I want to tell you all about a program called “Brownie Points” that I did this past quarter, as my residents prepared for finals. I baked some scratch brownies, and made up a sheet of study tips (i.e. “point”) for finals.
Most of my residents are freshmen, and have never had to take a college final. Most of my “points” were about studying effectively and early.
I then went door to door and gave out the brownies and the tips for studying. The tips were in a bullet format, so each one was a “brownie point” if you will. This program also gave me a chance to talk one on one with all of my residents about classes and registration for next quarter as well. The residents really seemed to like the program and enjoyed the free food, of course! This program could be easily adapted, but if you have more than 40 residents, you might want to invite them into a common area, where you could talk with them all at the same time.
Submitted by Katie Campbell, Resident Advisor, Western Washington University