Work in Residence Life

We’re looking for passionate, dedicated, caring UBC students of all ages to join our vibrant team in 2023/24.

Working in Residence Life is a valuable way to build important leadership skills, help other students succeed socially and academically, and earn income during the school year.

Residence Life staff inspire communities, plan events, lend an ear when needed, and—most importantly—help create lifelong memories for residents and themselves.

Types of jobs

For 2023/24 we are hiring Residence Advisors, Senior Residence Advisors and Programme Resource Centre Advisors. Learn more about each position below.

Recruitment calendar

Questions?

If you have any questions, check out our Frequently Asked Questions below, take the Residence Advisor Hiring Information Course, and stop by an info table in residence.

Student Stories

Tinotenda Masvikeni

The memories made and experiences had as an RA are invaluable and my experience at UBC simply would not have been as fulfilling without this role.

Hi! My name is Tino and I am currently a Residence Advisor at Ponderosa Commons.

In my first year at UBC, I was having a hard time finding my confidence socially. I was very quiet and was always second-guessing myself. While living in residence, I kept seeing a group of students in bright blue crewnecks—the RAs—who exuded self-confidence and self-assuredness, and I wanted to be just like them. So, I applied to be an RA.

When I was hired, it was both very exciting—and to be honest—terrifying (but in a good way). This role helped me build self-confidence through community building and leadership, and helped me realize the strength in myself that I did not know I had. It has also given me an opportunity for professional and personal development that helped me land some awesome opportunities outside of Residence Life.

Later in my RA journey, I was asked to be a Senior RA and I was appreciative and also quite humbled—it showed me that the RLMs saw potential in me that I had not realized myself. That opportunity was the most rewarding part of my RA journey and I made close connections with my amazing team—we are still very tight-knit to this day.

Through the role of an RA, I have made long-lasting friendships, learned how to build community, and had the opportunity to watch some amazing students grow and find their confidence as they take up more and more space at UBC.

Tinotenda Masvikeni (she, her, hers)
Residence Advisor, Ponderosa Commons
Fourth year undergraduate: BSc, Chemistry

Trushaan Bundhoo

Working as an RA has allowed me to meet some of my closest friends and learn important skills and life lessons. It’s an opportunity you don’t want to miss!

Hello! I’m Trushaan, a third year student in the Microbiology and Immunology program at UBC.
I joined Residence Life in my second year as an RA in Place Vanier. I had never thought about becoming an RA until my mom brought up the idea. I applied just to see what would happen and I’m glad I did!

My time as an RA has been one of the highlights of my university career so far, allowing me to forge new friendships, facilitate community building, encourage personal growth amongst residents, and be part of an extremely diverse and supportive team. It’s fostered my creativity when I’m planning events and activities and has taught me important skills and life lessons that are applicable for jobs and opportunities outside of Residence Life.

Trushaan Bundhoo
Residence Advisor, Place Vanier (Sherwood-Lett House)
Third year undergraduate, BSc, Microbiology and Immunology

Alexandra Smith

Being an RA means being the curator of a community; the effort that you put in is evident in the interactions and growth demonstrated by those around you.

Hello! I’m Alexandra, an RA in Thunderbird. When not busy with RA-ing, you can find me hanging between trees in a hammock or down on Wreck Beach reading the class texts I’ve procrastinated. I attended primary and secondary school in the American Midwest, but was born in Ontario. I always knew that I wanted to leave the States for university—the people at UBC and within Vancouver have given me a taste of dozens of cultures and minds I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to experience.

I’m currently working toward an Interdisciplinary BA+Masters of Management dual degree and loving it. My passions range from philosophy to politics to the stars, but I’m more than happy to talk about your latest obsession. I also run a virtual debate company in the US from my room—kindly ignore the microphone, post-its, and whiteboard if you come to say hello!

As an RA, I have had the opportunity to be part of an amazing network of support available to the student body. Prior to stepping into this role, I had no idea just how many resources are available to students. Now that I am in a position to connect residents to the resources created and curated for them, I am sure to make my community aware of all that campus has to offer.

Working in an upper-year residence was daunting at first as such a young RA, but I felt well prepared after our orientation training with the team. Many of my team members returned to the role from past years of experience; I’ve been able to learn from those around me and ask questions when they come up. I am incredibly lucky to be a part of the Thunderbird, Fairview, Fraser team and Residence Life!

Alexandra (Ali) Smith (she, her, hers)
Residence Advisor, Thunderbird
Second Year Undergraduate: BA, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences and Humanities & Masters of Management
Fun Fact: I spent last May-June walking 870 km through Northern Spain on El Camino de Santiago del Norte, a pilgrimage that started in the 9th century with a path marked by seashells and yellow arrows.

Max Botsis

Working in Residence Life is a great opportunity to develop professional and people skills!

Heyo, my name is Max Botsis and I’m a Residence Advisor at Ponderosa Commons.

I first joined Residence Life in my second year as an Advisor in Totem Park. After living there during first year, I was interested in the position as it seemed to be a great platform to meet so many new people on campus. Little did I know that it would be such an impactful and eye-opening position that I would continue throughout my degree.

I have always liked working in teams, and I cherished the opportunity to join one right where I was living in student housing. I have had the opportunity to work with three great teams to do really meaningful work in the residence communities. After the very thorough training at Advisor Orientation, I felt that I was given the right set of tools to support students, my team, and to personally thrive in the role.

I have always felt supported by the teams I’ve been a part of and that has allowed me to really explore my career development. There are so many skills and ideas that I’ve learned in my journey as a Residence Advisor that will be applicable to my future career. Having been in this role for a few years, I feel prepared for anything the future throws my way and hope I can continue to make positive impacts for the UBC community and beyond!

Max Botsis (he, him, his)
Residence Advisor, Ponderosa Commons
Fifth year undergraduate: BSc, Honours Chemical Physics + Masters of Management

Shreya Diwan

I’m glad that I took this opportunity as I have been able to learn so much while creating fun memories!

Hi! I’m Shreya, a Residence Advisor at Totem Park.

My first year at UBC started during the pandemic, and I was on a different continent taking classes from home. During that time, I would often think about what it would have been like to live on campus and meet new people. When I finally did move to campus in Term 2 of my first year, I met some of my closest friends in residence. One of the biggest reasons I applied to be an RA was to be part of a supportive community that would allow me to grow as a person and create a positive space for others!

Being an RA has definitely been one of my most rewarding experiences at UBC. The connections I have made—with other Residence Advisors, the residents in my community and my Residence Life Manager—have been very meaningful. I have been able to meet so many people from different backgrounds and learn from them.

Through my role, I have learned how to provide support to others—which has also helped me support myself during tough situations. I have also been able to channel my passions into organizing fun events and hone my organizational and interpersonal skills.

Shreya Diwan (They, Them, Theirs)
Residence Advisor, Totem Park Residence (c̓əsnaʔəm House)
Third year undergraduate: BA, Mathematics

Sabrina Rai

In Residence Life you are given the opportunity to both find and foster communities that will shape your university experience.

Hi, my name is Sabrina Rai and I am the Senior Residence Advisor at tə šxʷhəleləm̓s tə k̓ʷaƛ̓kʷəʔaʔɬ.

While living in residence in my first year, I became a part of a tight knit community with my floormates. We were able to create a fun and safe community to return to each day and further build these relationships through different events and resources provided by the Residence Life community.

Hoping to create this experience for others, I applied to become an RA. I started as a Residence Advisor during the pandemic and looking back it was one of the best decisions that I have made in my time here at UBC. In the midst of COVID and university life I felt very isolated from my peers and disconnected from the university environment. However, I was able to reconnect to the university community through my Residence Life team, residents and aspects of the role that allowed me to plan events targeted at the issues both myself and other UBC students were facing during the pandemic.

Working as a Residence Advisor and now a Senior Residence Advisor has allowed me to further develop skills that can be applied to so many other professions and life events. As a live-in employee, one of the biggest challenges I have had to work on is setting healthy boundaries and maintaining a good work-life balance. Beyond that I have been able to improve my skills on project management, conflict facilitation and effective communication.

Overall, I am glad that I applied to become an RA and I would recommend it for other individuals who are interested in finding and fostering new communities. I have had the chance to work with so many wonderful people that I may not have met otherwise and am thankful for the lasting relationships that have come out of it.

Sabrina Rai (she, her, hers)
Senior Residence Advisor, tə šxʷhəleləm̓s tə k̓ʷaƛ̓kʷəʔaʔɬ
Fourth-year undergraduate: BSc, Pharmacology

FAQs

Additional graduate student FAQs