A record number of returning SDSU students have applied for a community assistant (CA) job for the next school year.
The university’s Housing and Residential Life received one of the highest turnouts in years with 202 applicants, including 68 current CA’s who want to return next year, said TJ Bult, the Brown Hall residence hall director and overseer of the CA interviews. Last year, 104 people applied.
There are 128 total positions across campus. Each residence hall has around eight to sixteen CAs, depending on the exact residence.
Bult credits this year’s record application numbers to high levels of recruiting throughout campus.
“The two methods that stand out the most this year are that we very heavily advocated one-on-one outreach from CAs,” Bult said.
The CA recruitment social held in January was the other method that helped get applicants, with 27 alone coming from that week.
Applications for the 2024-25 academic year were open on the platform Handshake from mid-October to late January. They consisted of three essay questions regarding why students wanted to be a CA, and applicants were asked to attach their résumé as well.
Raeann Holmquist, a freshman nursing major, applied for a CA job and described the reasons why.
“I applied to be a CA because I want to help others and assist in building a community within the dorms,” Holmquist said. “Having a strong support system where I live is important to me.”
She said her own CA inspired her to apply by providing her with a friendly environment surrounded by creating bonds and connecting Holmquist with her other hallmates.
The CA job comes with a variety of responsibilities. Working with residents to create a safe and friendly environment is an important job, but tasks include working the front desk, logging in mail hours by sorting residents’ mail, and coming up with floor programs.
Rylin Yerdon, a junior CA assigned to Caldwell Hall, describes some of the different jobs a CA must do and why they do it.
“We have floor programs and meetings just to keep our residents connected and to build that sense of community as the position states,” Yerdon said.
Engaging with the residents is one of Yerdon’s favorite parts of the position. She has made connections throughout her time as a CA while working the front desk or participating in floor programs.
Yerdon says the position requires 20 hours a week of an employee’s time, but the scheduling is flexible. They can schedule themselves around other responsibilities they know about.
“For example, I’m the president of the advertising club, so I can arrange those meetings around my CA schedule, and I can schedule my work duties around that too,” Yerdon said.
With a flexible schedule, Housing and Residential Life provides CAs with a single room, a meal plan, a stipend over the fall and spring semesters and a waiver of the housing application fee.
Applicant Jack Barney, a freshman mathematics major, applied for the position because of the significant reduction in tuition.
“I didn’t realize how expensive tuition was until I came to SDSU,” Barney said. “When I saw the CA opportunity throughout campus, I decided it was a good idea to apply and save some money.”
The reduction in tuition is nearly $10,000 with all expenses added, and helping new college students adjust to a new place was a large part of why Barney applied for the position.
Along with all the expectations of being a CA, applicants must have at least two semesters of college enrollment under their belt, maintain a full-time student status, and have a GPA of at least 2.5.
Because of the large number of qualified applicants, the hiring timeline was adjusted to accommodate each student who applied. Interviews were held from Feb. 5 to 9 and extended three days into the next week.
Students who applied and interviewed will hear if they got a position, if they were pooled and must wait for someone else to decline an offer, or if they were denied a position on March 1.