The search is on for the next batch of students willing to enforce quiet hours, mediate thermostat disputes, and keep the dorms (mostly) under control. On Feb. 19, applications for Resident Assistant and Campus Ministry Coordinator positions opened for the 2025-26 school year.
Each year, about 50 Resident Assistants (RAs) and 12 Campus Ministry Coordinators (CMCs) are hired. For RAs, the application and interview process is run by Whitworth’s five Area Coordinators. RAs assist in the administration of the residence halls to which they are assigned. The position is highly competitive, each year bringing in over 100 applications.
This year’s Area Coordinator for Boppell and Oliver, Bailey Sauls, will be heading the process of organizing marketing, creating the application, conducting group interviews and evaluating applications.
“There’s no such thing as the perfect RA and the best thing you can do is be yourself and be willing to learn and grow,” said Sauls. “I think the most successful RAs are the ones who just bring who they are into the role and then learn to adapt as needed.”
RAs serve as role models and assist in the administration of the residence halls to which they are assigned. The RA position is the highest paying on-campus job students can get, with housing covered and a monthly stipend.
“I would encourage students not to self-select out of that process,” said Sauls. “It’s easy to hear that 100 people are applying and think ‘I’m never gonna get it,’ but there’s lots of positions and we want to give people these opportunities.”
Being an RA is a crucial part of resident life. RAs are expected to help residents create a sense of community within living areas through programming and intentional relationships.
“There are opportunities to hone your leadership skills, community building skills, and be part of and connected to a community,” said Sauls. “I tell me RAs, you have a stake in this too, you are building strong relationships alongside your residents.”
Whitworth’s Campus Pastor for Discipleship and CMC supervisor, Lauren Taylor, will be organizing applications and interviews for all CMC applicants. CMCs work in partnership with the campus ministry staff and serve on the leadership teams within their residence halls. Their job is to create a vision for how to implement a holistic ministry approach within each hall.
“Our hope, our goal, is to help every student at Whitworth take steps closer to Christ,” said Taylor. “And CMCs are so important because they allow ministry to happen in all different corners of campus that I and other faculty can’t reach.”
CMCs plan things like small groups, setting up weekly worship, organizing weekly prayer gatherings and creating programs in the halls for students who are grappling with questions of faith.
“I want every CMC to take ownership of the job in a way that’s really unique to who God has made them to be,” said Taylor. “I think sometimes students think they have to be a certain type of student with a certain personality, but really I want every CMC to use the Gifts that God’s given them and the story that God’s given them.”
The CMC position, while not as high paying as an RA, is a paid position and students receive a weekly stipend.
“Do it! Apply,” said Tommy Chase, CMC for McMillan Hall. “It’s a job, but it’s also an experience that you can get so much out of when you have a heart of forward service.”
Applications for the RA and CMC positions have been open on Handshake from Wednesday, Feb. 19, and closed Sunday, March 2.
