Join the RA Team

The Resident Assistant (RA) Team

The RAs are graduate students who are returning residents of the Warehouse. The RAs can be from any department, and can be Master's or Doctoral students. RAs serve as volunteers at the Warehouse to carry out many roles.

The general responsibilities of the RAs are to work alongside the Heads of House to build community among the first-year residents and to aid in ensuring the smooth functioning of the building as a living environment and student space. Building community involves planning and executing social events, fostering conviviality among the residents, and serving as a friendly presence. Maintaining the dorm’s living environment involves being attentive to the facilities and reporting any problems, as well as educating residents about and enforcing building policies.

RAs are compensated for their service by being permitted to continue living in the Warehouse, an otherwise first-year-only residence, while they continue their studies beyond the first year.  They may also select their apartments within the building from any of the available rooms.

Service Duration

For 2- or 3- year Master's degree students, the service duration is until graduation.

For Doctoral degree students, the service duration is three years. After three years, Doctoral RAs join the Advisory Board (AB). AB members are expected to contribute to the efficient operation of the RA team with their previous knowledge whenever possible. This may include helping out with events if there are a shortage of RAs.

Time Commitment

On average, RAs spend 10 hours/month doing RA related work. This may increase/decrease depending on the RA position and time of year e.g. orientation requires more time and planning in August that may exceed 10 hours/month.

RA Positions

We have 10 different RA positions. A summary of each position’s specific responsibilities is provided below. Feel free to reach out to the current RA Team (wh-ras@mit.edu) if you are interested in any of the positions and would like more information about the roles, or the RA team in general.

  1. Secretary: Record and issue meeting minutes; issue weekly newsletters and announcements to Warehouse and MIT communities; maintain Warehouse calendar.
  2. Treasurer: Primary contact for all finance-related questions; advise on budgeting for events and other expenses; apply for funding; manage funds and reimbursements.
  3. Webmaster: Maintain Warehouse website and email lists; create and file online forms, surveys, and other documents for RAs as necessary.
  4. Community Chair: Enhance relations with other dorms and with the MIT graduate community at large by attending and representing the Warehouse at the various community meetings; identify opportunities for the Warehouse to become involved in community activities and events that span multiple dorms.
  5. Welcoming and Wellness Chair (x2): Schedule and plan Orientation events in the summer months; ready building for new residents; plan continued wellness events throughout the year; spread awareness among the Warehouse community of MIT Wellness resources
  6. Arts Chair (x2): Plan arts events; lead outings to art galleries, jazz pubs etc.; help to spread awareness among the Warehouse community about arts shows, events, and opportunities at MIT and in the greater Cambridge-Boston area.
  7. Sports Chair: Ensure Warehouse gym space is kept in good working order; create awareness of resources for healthy, active living at MIT; liaise with other dorms to coordinate Warehouse resident participation in sports and group-exercise classes hosted at larger graduate dorms
  8. Building and Sustainability Chair (x2): Manage room reservations; coordinate annual building assessment; enforce building polices; liaise with the House Manager to make sure that any issues with the building are addressed.
  9. Kindness and Outreach Chair: Encourage kindness in many forms to residents, staff, the MIT and broader Cambridge-Boston community; organize volunteer activities.
  10. President (not available for application): Drive the mission of the RA team to build community and a safe, respectful, and orderly living environment for all; stay abreast of event coordination, accounts and funds; liaison between representatives from MIT offices, other graduate dormitories etc.

Application Process

We invite applications from former or current Warehouse residents who would like to join the RA team for the next academic year.

The timeline of the RA selection process is as follows:

  1. Early February: RA application released online.
  2. Late February: RA application closes.
  3. First week of March: Individual interviews held with selected candidates.
  4. Spring Break: Decisions released.

We strongly encourage joining the 'wh-helpers' mailing list if you are interested in becoming an RA. This will give you an opportunity to get to know current RAs and help out with Warehouse events. You can join by emailing the RA President Cameron Krulewski with a request to be added to the list.