Dusty Brooks, a Resident Assistant in The Village at Penn College, recently received the distinction of being named Pennsylvania College of Technology's "RA of the Month" for the second time.Brooks, a senior majoring in legal studies, first received the honor in December 2002, shortly before leaving for a yearlong tour of duty in Iraq that put her career as a Penn College student and Resident Assistant on hold.
Brooks was selected due to her long-standing dedication to the Residence Life program and for continually going above and beyond the requirements of the position.
"For Brooks, being a Resident Assistant at Penn College was always about the potential impact she could have on others," said TimothyJ. Mallery, assistant director of residence life/housing operations coordinator. " She says that her mother always told her that, if you are able to impact one person in a group of 100, then you have made a big difference. It is this belief that has kept Dusty motivated through the position."
As a matter of fact, she has found so much satisfaction in the position that she has decided to pursue it as a career after her graduation in December. Brooks' initial plan after graduation is to begin graduate school pursuing a master's degree in student affairs and higher education administration, a degree that will prepare her to enter the field of student affairs.
Brooks has experienced the effect that living on campus and being involved can have on a student's college career, both personally and through the experiences of her residents. She began her college career as a student commuting from Renovo. After completing her initial year, she wanted to become more active in campus life and found that the Resident Assistant position got her highly involved very quickly and opened a wide variety of new opportunities for her.
Brooks encourages others to make the most of their time at Penn College and to value what the experience has to offer.