Alyssa Primeau, RA of 11A in Warren Towers, has been a huge contributing factor to my happy and painless adjustment to college and the lifestyle associated with it. She’s sweet, supportive, wise, and always ready to offer advice, whether it’s about fostering resilience despite the hard first weeks of the semester or dispelling common beliefs about drinking and the party scene at BU.
While I’m sure all other resident assistants possess the same supportive qualities, Primeau stands out from them because of her graduate student status. She’s a first-year student in the Graduate College of Fine Arts as a flutist. Her “Why BU?” story had to do with the great music program and a particular flute professor that she really wanted to study under, both of which brought her far from her home in Michigan, where she both grew up and attended college for her undergraduate degree.
Her experience both as an RA and at BU has been pleasant. She wanted to be a resident assistant because the qualities and tasks that made for the best RAs were ones she values.
“Being an RA presents the opportunity to lead and mentor younger college students,” Primeau said. She received a teaching degree in undergrad, and working as an RA at BU seemed like one of the best ways to apply that knowledge and use her expertise practically.
Photo #1: Provided by Alyssa Primeau, courtesy of Jlboone Photography
During the day, she’s hard at work pursuing her Master’s degree in music. Once she returns back to her dorm, her door is open, ready to help anyone who needs it. “My favorite part [of being an RA] is getting to know everyone and their interests, and how you all, despite your different majors and interests, relate to one another.”
Primeau loves fostering a community, often planning activities that can help students bond with one another. Some of the floor activities she’s planned so far have been a freshmen dinner, a sophomore brunch, walking to Splash together, a board games night in the common room (that brought almost everyone out of their rooms), and most recently, a Halloween door decorating contest.
Although she admits that living with mostly freshmen was a bit weird at first, she’s quickly adjusted to it. “There’s a bigger age gap than other RAs,” Primeau explained, alluding to her grad student status, “but it’s worked out because some of you [the residents of 11A] are really mature beyond [their] years.”
She highly recommends working as an RA, especially if someone has patience and an interest in getting to know people from all different walks of life. Her one piece of advice to freshmen is to develop resilience. “It’s really important not to give up,” Primeau said, “even when it gets really difficult, really stressful… even when you miss home or even high school.”
Me and my fellow 11th floor Fairfield Tower residents really hit the jackpot with our resident flutist. Primeau isn’t only a great RA, but she’s also a living embodiment of many of our goals, having graduated with her undergrad degree and now pursuing higher education.
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