Personal Narrative: Roller Skating Classes

I strongly believe that giving back to my community/school in one way or another is the most important thing outside of my academics and this is why I want to become an RA. At the age of thirteen, I started my own roller skating classes. Being the instructor of a roller skating class and running the class on my own taught me to be a leader, to grow from my failures and it gave me the opportunity to give back to my community. I learned how to skate in Washington, where my instructors were passionate and enthusiastic for the sport. Their positive energy was so powerful that my love for roller skating continued to radiate within me, even after I made the move from Washington to California. The impact that my instructors made on me and their ability
to unite the community sparked my need to bring this experience to the people in my new neighborhood. I decided to take matters into my own hands and start my own class at a community park. I take pride in knowing that I excel in endeavors where I know that I am helping others by sharing my passion. For me, being an active member in my community/school by sharing my time and talents brings joy to my life. My community has helped me to grow into the person I am today and it is honestly the least I could do. I believe that the RA experience will foster my abilities to serve my school community and utilize my passion to create a space where I am able to help my peers academically and socially. I want to encourage a sense of community through diversity, hone my leadership skills and encourage residents to take ownership of their role in making our society a better place to live in. The most important aspect of the RA position is being a great role model. This is important because the RA’s have to help guide their residents in the right direction while making decisions for others and themselves. They also have to provide inspiration and support to their residents. RA’s should demonstrate confidence and leadership in different situations and should have poise, especially in times of emergencies. They should have open communications and interactions with all their residents and should have no bias. A good role model should show respect, a sense of concern for others, humility and the willingness to admit to faults when they occur. There is great responsibility in being an RA because residents are observant and so essentially, being a good role model allows for the makings of a good RA. The RA is critical in building a sense of community because they are the ones that the residents look up to and depend on for school resources.
The RA is in charge of creating the community environment because they coordinate, plan and implement social, emotional and educational gatherings where residents come together to get to know each other. Successful events, where resident attendance is high, allows residents to create bonds with people they probably do not know. Every trait that an RA has directly influences the sense of community. Overall, the RA is a very critical aspect in a building because they foster relationships within residents that allow for a sense of
community. Some of the characteristics and skills that I have are my enthusiasm, energy and ability to cooperate with others.
Through my assistant job at the library I have learned to work with a staff to plan events for kids during the summer. I learned that planning is not easy and there are many administrative hoops that you have to jump through in order to plan a successful event. I have been teaching roller skating to kids in the community for about four years now and this experience has taught me to work with people all ages and has given me a chance to develop leadership skills. I have learned to be an empathetic leader, by helping them learn and grow from their mistakes and providing emotional support. Spearheading this class was no walk in the park. This experience put my leadership abilities, patience, and positivity to the test; however, I am proud to say that I have taught over four hundred students how to roller skate proficiently over these past 4 years. Being a roller skating instructor has really shaped my qualities and values I have now. These leadership qualities and skills I have gained from my experience of being a roller skating instructor are transferrable to my ability to be a good RA. I know that this job will help me continue to improve my leadership skills and allow me to learn from my residents, co-workers and supervisors. At last, being a crew leader has given me the chance to be a mentor and a leader, guiding the freshmen to discover what it takes to be
successful during the transition to high school and help facilitate freshmen success which is closer to the role of an RA. After being a crew leader for two years I have gained strong communication skills, willingness to lead and a strong sense of responsibility. I believe that my characteristics and skills I have gained from my past experiences will help me to be a good RA.