Dear Alternate,

You came off quite a good year, filled with new friends, maybe some uncertainty about the future, but also a lot of lessons learned.

However, let's go back to that uncertainty for a moment; you have received your letter that will inform you of whether or not you will be one of the many who are selected to be an RA in the upcoming academic year. It's a position that you talked yourself into applying for, because you have connected with the school and you are more than capable of being able to provide for others and help them go through another year of college.

As you open it, a swarm of questions course through your brain: do you want this position? What happens if you don't get it? Could you handle the rejection? Could you handle the acceptance? It makes all the difference in housing especially if you made roommate plans just in case.

However, when you finally read it, it comes to a different conclusion: alternate.

Wait, what? Alternate? What's that supposed to mean? I just wait around like someone who is next in line for the throne? Sit here and think that if someone decides not to follow through with the job or gets offered a promotion I just might be offered the position?

Quite honestly, this isn't too far from the truth: as an alternate you were genuinely liked, but perhaps there was something that left a uncertainty from the hiring process. That's not to say you weren't disliked, but there are only so many spots to offer.

To that I say, don't despair; there are many times where other RAs have also been assigned alternates before being hired. Your own RA could have very well been an alternate before being hired.

The main point is that you never know just what might happen when you're hired as an alternate. Over the summer it will be the most unexpected thing to receive a phone call from someone you met during your first year. Maybe the most unexpected thing will be that you don't get a call, and that's okay, too. When being named an alternate, there is no right or wrong way to accept the position, except that you sign the line that says you will be in touch in case Residence Life is looking. The entire RA process is, without a doubt, one of the greatest learning experiences anyone can have in college.

Do not despair if you're named an alternate because sometimes that may just be the best thing that happens to you that year. Have an amazing summer, and may it be full of unexpected surprises or just expected events.

Sincerely,

A Former Alternate