Fssp Reflection

When I was a resident for FSSP, my RA put on a program called the 7th Annual Polar Dip. Because of this, one of the things I was most excited about to be an RA for FSSP was to put on the 9th Annual San Nicolas Polar Dip! San Nicolas residents and I marched to Campus Point at 9pm at night, where we then preceded to charge into the ocean together. They then splashed each other with water guns and bounced a bunch of beach balls in the cold water. The event ended with everyone gathering together in the water and chanting an improvised OLÉ cheer with a finishing “U-C-S-B”. We then all went back to San Nicolas, warmed up, and watched Frozen while eating Klondike bars. I was very emotionally invested in this program and was very excited to put it

I told my residents that they were going to go on a scavenger hunt throughout campus and Isla Vista. I got them all pumped up to win by telling them that the winning team would receive an awesome prize. An ARD approved list of activities was then handed out to each team. Activities on the list ranged from starting a dance party on Pardall street, going to other floor lounges to serenade other residents, and convincing restaurants to give the team a free burrito. I made sure one of the higher scoring items was to find me biking around campus and Isla Vista and to take a team picture with me. Since teams were completely random, my residents were able to meet with other residents that they haven’t had the chance to hang out with yet. They were all able to bond within their teams by doing silly and fun tasks to achieve a shared goal. When all the teams met back in the floor lounge, I surprised them all with root beer floats. The winning team got their bagels paid for when our whole floor went out to bagel café for brunch the next day. I enjoy this program because it was able to bring together residents on my floor that didn’t necessarily know each other by the halfway point of FSSP. Also, it allowed me to demonstrate to my residents that I was invested in them by showing them my role on the floor is not a passive one, but an active one. I didn’t just send them out on their scavenger hunt and relaxed for an hour. I went out, biked around looking for each team, saw the silly things they were doing together, and got to know them all better as a result of this bonding