Living in a dorm allows you to experience an instant bond among your floormates, your RA, and even your RD. The RDs here at Houghton College include Jon Craton (Roth), Jason Stephens (Shen), Ashley Dean (Lambein), and Laura Cunningham (Gillette). This is Jon, Jason, and Laura’s first year here at Houghto
n, while it is Ashley’s third year as an RD here.
Many students wonder what their RD does all day since they do not have the typical 8am to 5pm work day. Their job is two-fold: administrative and relational. For administrative work, they send emails, send maintenance requests, and attend meetings. For the relational part, they connect with the students themselves and interact with their RAs, empowering them to reach out to their floors.
Jon Craton, the RD of Roth, is very passionate about what he does. The one factor that drew him to Houghton is the factor that others despised: that Houghton is located in a rural area. What challenges Jon to do his job is to see “students where they are, but then have a vision for what they can become, and then do what [he] can to help them get there.”
Craton, who mentioned to me that he still plays with legos, jokingly stated that he likes to think he can do anything. “I like to be a superhero. That’s actually part of the RD job description. Be a superhero.” Craton realized, though, that he cannot do everything, to which he emphasizes the importance of being vulnerable, and said, “As an RD, I want people to be able to watch me, whether that is in my relationship with Karin or how I work or how I interact with them and I want them to be able to see that and learn from it and look up to it. But I also have to be myself and if we’re honest, I’m not perfect.” Craton knows that in order to develop deep relationships with students, there is a give and take, as well being real, vulnerable, and being true to yourself.
Jason Stephens, the RD of Shen, understands that RDs “don’t always see the rewards immediately, but when you do see it, it makes your job super meaningful.” When asked what motivates him to do his job, he responded, “I think what motivates me the most is having students come to me and share their residential life experience and sharing how they have grown.” It’s these small moments that Stephens loves.
Stephens is all about building personal relationships. After his wife, Kendra Stephens, goes to bed around 11pm, he walks around the building and hangs out with the guys – he tries to do this about five times a week. After that, he has about an hour to himself, whether that is watching West Wing, reflecting, or just relaxing. He finally tucks himself into bed around 2am, only to wake up at 8am. Stephens strives “to be on the floor with no other purpose than to just say hi to the guys. I’m there just to be a presence on their floor and get to know them.”
Stephens enjoys his Saturday morning drives to McDonald’s with Kendra Stephens for their weekly breakfast together. He realizes the importance of relaxing to prevent burnout. What made Stephens want to become an RA and ultimately an RD was his relationship with his RA when he was a freshman in college. “My RA my very first day took me under his wing. It really made me feel like I was at home.” Jason hopes to help students grow and develop holistically in a lot of different areas.
Ashley Dean, RD of Lambein, sees the importance of knowing the names of the girls living in her dorm, even if she does not have one-on-one interactions with all of them. Dean attended Houghton College as a student, moving right into the RD role after graduating in 2011. Even though she had originally planned on leaving Houghton after graduation, she says, “I wanted to invest back in this place and this department specifically that played such a key role in my development.”
With a smile, Dean talked about how she “loves students’ a-ha moments. When students can point out areas where they have grown, I like that.” And through the growth of students and herself, Dean strives to be open and honest with her residents.
Even though Dean and her husband, Nathan Dean, are married now, they still embrace the child within them. For Halloween, Dean was a fish while Nathan Dean was a fisherman. They also like to turn their apartment into a fort and have a movie night in the living room.
Laura Cunningham, the RD of Gillette, likes trying new things and new adventures, which is what brought her from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to rural New York. Being an RD is the first experience Cunningham has ever had with student development. Cunningham received her degree in Christian ministries and spiritual formation and leadership after attending Asbury University and Spring Arbor University. Cunningham explains that what really drew her to the RD role was that students are “connected in so many different ways: academics, social, spiritual. So it is great to watch that unfold and support and empower you as you are experiencing those things.”
Cunningham loves that her job as RD is people-focused; she loves getting to know students and RAs and then supporting them all. Cunningham understands that her RAs are students and that sometimes one-on-ones can be rescheduled until after a big test or project is completed.
Cunningham, in jeans and a sweatshirt, playing with her tea in front of her, speaks very intelligently. Through conversation with her, I wrote down four books that I know need to read. She also knows her strengths, listing some as ‘individualization,’ ‘connectedness,’ and ‘learner.’ She draws upon what she knows and loves to see the bigger picture, looking at how things are interconnected. She said, “For now, this is where God has led me.”
The RDs of the dorms are passionate about what they do. They realize the potential that college students have and they want to be here for encouragement, to be a listening ear, and to help us out with tough situations. But more importantly, Craton, Stephens, Dean, and Cunningham have a desire to get to know us as people.