My undergraduate friends and I decided it was time for a reunion this winter break. Since graduating in 2021 and 2022, our crew had been experiencing the inevitable scatter that comes with leaving college life behind. No more meet-ups at dining halls. No more easy, late-night walks. Pre-funded and pre-organised events obviously became obsolete as well. Despite our professional and graduate school careers dispersing us to opposite coasts of the country, we still felt the strong desire to rekindle the fun and enjoyment of those ever-so-brief memories. As a result, we decided to take our friend group’s longing for togetherness and positive energy to a Carnival cruise ship.
Vacations are for relaxation and disconnection in most cases. But in true ResLife fashion, I felt my residential ‘spidey senses’ tingling as I boarded the ship. I couldn’t help but make comparisons and observations while also attempting to generate new ideas. As my experience continued, I found that there were many similarities between cruise ships and the residential communities we work in daily. Although this may sound a bit ridiculous, the idea isn’t too far out there. Semester at Sea was founded 60 years ago, and continues to attract students to the use of the cruise ship experience as a means of study abroad. That said, these are just a few of the aspects of my cruise experience that I believe may be beneficial in residential communities.
Activity Itineraries
I know what you’re thinking. Have all of our hours navigating WordPress tools and campus calendars simply gone to waste? Most certainly not! However, there was something so appealing about receiving a detailed outline of the engaging activities that would be available to me on the cruise ship at the start of my day. In my experience, this is usually accomplished through the distribution of flyers, email newsletters, and event calendars dedicated to the entire campus. I believe that centralizing these lists based on locales, be it campus areas for larger institutions, or residential spaces for others, may make events seem more appealing and accessible to students who may be hesitating to make an appearance. Sometimes, it isn’t about the availability of the information, but rather the medium utilized to communicate said information.
Centralized Mobile Applications
On the topic of mediums, the biggest point of intrigue for me was the ship’s use of the mobile application. The application synchronizes to your ship’s movement and your daily experiences. On the hub application, you’ll find the activity itineraries, dining menus, and other vital information. Many universities have already translated this into mobile applications of their own. What stands out about a cruise ship’s application is its specificity. At larger institutions, students may never find themselves on one end or the other of campus, leading to an overload of information that may be somewhat unimportant to their experience. The option to filter or adapt application features to the student would be a positive. While this is a functionality issue left up to application developers, it’s definitely something to consider.
Intercom Announcements
As a new professional, I’m not experienced enough to know how either outdated or uncommon this idea is. Either way, I’m personally a fan. Cruise ships use overhead intercoms to communicate important messages, but they also use them in order to promote ship morale and increase excitement. My first undergraduate residence hall experience had overhead intercoms. I enjoyed the personalities associated with the announcements, and I more than appreciated the heads-up about free pizza and ice cream in the lobby. Intercom announcements and shorts seem like a fun and personable way to connect with residents. It might also be a great opportunity for RA collateral responsibilities and experience. We’ve become accustomed to perceiving charisma through tik-toks and reels these days, but there’s just something special about that in-person expression, even over intercom.
Positivity Towards the Journey
Perhaps the most important trait I recognized on my trip came from the synergy of all the trip-goers. Cruises aren’t for everyone. I’m still not even sure if they’re for me! However, cruise ships and cruise lines certainly each carry their own culture in a similar fashion to university campuses and residential communities. A good deal of the appeal of cruises to those who love them so dearly is less about the stops along the way and more about the journey and expedition towards those stops. Everyone on board is headed to the same location (in our case, graduation) but in the midst of that, there is so much to partake in and learn from each other. Cruise ships are big boats full of personality and culture. Our residents bring these same valuable gifts to our community. As Residence Life professionals, it’s our job to make the journey to their end goal enjoyable and meaningful. On cruise ships, you can see a dedication to this mindset from the staff members and at times in the community created by those aboard the ship.
Our communities come with a lot of unique challenges that distinguish us from a ship geared towards an all-inclusive getaway. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot that we can learn and utilize from external industries. While much of what we do is serious business, there is still plenty of room to create community, comfort, and fun in our communities. I believe that in using a few of these tips in our communities, we just might lead to our students making memories.
