What is your routine for the first few hours of your day?
My routine for my first few hours of every day typically includes going and working out at the gym, taking my dog, Jake, outside for a walk, and then prepping for my work day. Jake likes to play fetch in my apartment, so we’ll do that a little bit before and after work.
What is the last thing you read, watched, or listened to that changed your perspective?
I can often be found reading Dr. J.C. Stoner’s work on a sense of mattering with RAs. One of his pieces of research talks about how community and area size for RAs matter, in relation to their overall sense of mattering. In an article in The Journal of College and University Student Housing (2017), “Resident Assistant Mattering: Do Placement and Community Size Matter?” Stoner and co-author Yi Leaf Zhang revealed that total mattering scores were lower for RAs who had a greater number of residents and higher for those who had a fewer number of residents.
What is one piece of advice you wish you had received earlier in your career?
Your best looks different every day, week, month, and year. At your graduate and entry-level roles, it’s okay not to know everything. It’s okay to not be perfect and make mistakes. We all give each other grace, listen, learn, and grow.
What is your favorite campus dining hall meal?
I love it when the dining hall makes fresh-cut steak! I love steak and dipping it into Hidden Valley Ranch dressing.
What is something that someone has done for you lately for which you were most grateful?
My partner went and checked me into my return flights while I was interviewing on campus in a different state and took care of my dog while I was out of town.
What tool does every campus housing pro need to know how to use, and when was the last time you used one?
I would say every campus housing pro needs to know how to use a mallet to adjust a bed. I was helping a conference team adjust beds, and they needed some assistance, and I was able to get a mallet to adjust the bed. My several summers of working on housing conference staffs and adjusting beds helped me.
What was your favorite class when you were a student?
My favorite class was Fitness Programming and Implementation because we were able to apply skills from our Assessment and Evaluation course and train a client in an eight-week exercise regimen. My group partner, Trace, and I were able to help our client reach his exercise goals, which felt very rewarding.
What hobby would you pursue if time and money were no object?
I would love to travel more. Getting to see the world would be wonderful. I have always wanted to travel to Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany, Wales, and Spain.
What is your favorite tradition from any campus where you have worked?
At The University of Oklahoma, a student must never go under the bell tower and look up. If they do, the legend says that they will not graduate on time.
What song do you count on to hype you up to start the day or help you celebrate at the end of a long one?
I would say I count on “Love You Anyway” or “Fast Car” by Luke Combs. I have those songs currently on replay.
Ashtyn Davis is a graduate student in the department of housing and residence life at The University of Oklahoma in Norman. Do you want to see yourself or a colleague included in Snapshot? Complete the questions on this form or share the link with someone who you think we should get to know better.