Welcome, PHC students! Here is a preview of this year's RAs and what they have planned for the upcoming semester. For those who don't know, Resident Assistants provide care, guidance, advice, and spiritual leadership in their dorms, acting as the touchpoint between students and the administration. Their responsibilities include leading Wing Chapel twice a week and planning events for their wings.
So let's take a look at what these girls shared with us!
RA goals: I’m looking forward to getting to know each girl in my wing individually—what makes them happy, sad, excited, or stressed. I love deep conversations, but I also love lying silent on the floor together or laughing way too hard at jokes. I can’t wait to spend time together in movie nights, wing chapels, and late-night study sessions in the hallway!
Wing Chapel: I haven’t decided on exactly what I want to do yet, but I would like to make prayer a big part of wing chapels. This may be through actually studying the art and act of prayer in the Bible, or it may just be having small prayer groups and prayer requests each time. Either way, I think prayer is the foundation for any relationship with God. One other idea I have is to study different women in the Bible (especially the ones we don’t often think about), and I would likely supplement this study with another topic as well. Whichever kind I do, I want chapels to be conversational and in-depth!
Wing theme: Last year I did a theater/old Hollywood vibe, with movie posters and quotes and other décor on the walls. I must admit, I’m pretty partial to that theme. But I’m still deciding if I want to switch it up. I might do something bookish-themed or something to do with ice cream (I LOVE ice cream).
RA goal: I am most looking forward to getting to know the girls in my wing, and growing closer with them as we seek Jesus together. I'm so looking forward to lots of laughs and good times!
Wing Chapel: First and foremost, I hope to center wing chapel around praying for one another and lifting each other up in hope and encouragement. Prayer is so powerful! Additionally, I'm hoping to do a devotional study for wing chapel (I'm still picking which devotional), and as we read each day I'm planning on asking questions that will spark earnest discussion and learning opportunities.
Wing Theme: My wing decor is bee themed, based off the verse in Proverbs 16:24 that says, "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."
RA goals: Having fun leading wing chapel!
Wing Chapel: The plan is to go through CS Lewis's The Four Loves and the book of James.
Wing theme: I'm calling my wing The Lily Pad and it'll be themed after a lily pond.
RA goal: I am so excited to hang out with my girls and watch them flourish into the beautiful women God has created them to be. I hope to have many movie nights, spontaneous grocery runs, and conversations over hot cups of tea with all of the girls in my wing!
Wing Chapel: For Wing Chapel, I want to read through a selection of Psalms that describe attributes of Christ. I plan to have a split wing chapel schedule; my girls and I will study one Psalm each week in a Bible Study wing chapel, and then we will share prayer requests and pray for each other during a Prayer wing chapel. My hope for Wing Chapel is that it will prepare my girls and I to meditate on a Psalm throughout each week and will also be a source of encouragement as we lift up one another in prayer.
Wing theme: For my wing theme, I have chosen "Fruit of the Spirit." I want to incorporate a lot of fun, bright colors as well as Scripture, creating a theme that is not only joyful and colorful, but is also a daily reminder to live for Jesus and abide in Him! (John 15:5)
RA goals: I am most looking forward to deepening my relationships with the girls in my wing through faithful prayer, intentional time together, and lots of fun wing dinners! I'm also looking forward to seeing where each of us is in her walk with the Lord and finding out what obedience to Him means at that point in the journey.
Wing Chapel: For wing chapel, we will be studying the attributes of God. This is a topic that has come alive for me during the past year. I am excited to see what God is going to reveal about Himself to each of us as we seek to know Him better. He promises each believer, "You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:11). My prayer is that each of us would learn to put this promise into practice.
Wing Theme: My wing theme is still a bit tentative, but I'm leaning towards a night-lights theme based on John 1:5. Think stars, fireflies, campfires, lamps/lanterns, sunsets, maybe city skylines. There are many decor options under this general theme that I get to explore!
RA goals: Getting to meet the new freshmen!! And getting to know everyone better!
Wing Chapel: The book of Ephesians. Also, I'd love to have lots of get-to-know-you time!
RA goals: I am thrilled to spend another year doing life so closely with the ladies the Lord has placed in my wing, from Harris Teeter runs and hall conversations to wing chapels and “study parties.” It is such a blessing to sit with and love on the ladies in my wing during some of their best and some of their hardest seasons. The many, many moments of prayer and fellowship—at all hours of the day—are what I look forward to most. I’m SO excited to see what the Lord will do in and through each of us this year!
Wing Chapel: My heart for wing chapel is to create a peaceful space where my girls feel loved, listened to, and encouraged to lean on the Lord, especially when the semester feels stressful or life feels heavy. My hope is to split our weeks between a discussion of some of the harder questions skeptics raise against the Christian faith, rooted in Lee Strobel’s The Case for Faith, and a study of one (or several!) books of the Bible. I also plan to incorporate intentional times of prayer into wing chapels, both by taking the time to open and close each wing chapel in prayer and by setting aside time for the ladies in my wing to pray for each other.
Wing theme: My wing will likely be "secret garden" themed—flowers, greenery, books, and even wing pillows! I want to foster a wing culture that sees the hall as a special space for studying and fellowship.
RA goals: I’m looking forward to having good conversations and going on lots of adventures. I am so excited to get plugged into the PHC community alongside the girls in my wing.
Wing Chapel: My vision for Wing Chapel is to explore how Christians find their identity in Christ above all else. One of the struggles of being far from home for the first time in college is losing a sense of belonging that has always been found in family. Pointing people back to our purpose in Christ is a great way to reconcile those feelings with Scripture.
Wing theme: I would love to have a space-themed wing. If you ever need space, come to my wing :)
RA goals: I am so excited to spend time with each girl in the wing and grow (or start!) our friendship. Last year, my favorite times of the week were getting ready in the bathroom together and wing chapel because I got to spend time with my amazing winglings! :)
Wing Chapel: This year, my wing will study the Psalms and devote time to pray together. Psalm 19 describes God's Word as "more to be desired than gold" and "sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb," so we are going to spend a lot of time soaking in the riches of the Scriptures! I also want to spend devoted time in prayer at the end of every wing chapel, sometimes as a wing and sometimes in pairs.
Wing theme: I'm sticking with my theme from last year—sailing!
Fun fact: I swam in the Amazon river!
RA goals: I am most looking forward to being able to help foster community and friendship on campus! One of the beauties of Patrick Henry is our tight-knit community, and I want to be a part of breaking the ice and creating community. In my wing, I want students to feel safe and taken care of.
Wing Chapel: In my first two years of school, my RAs made sure that I had my focus on God and what He has for me during this season. I want wing chapel to be a place where girls can forget what is happening with school and other burdens, and we can read the word together. I am planning on doing a lot of Bible studies!
Wing theme: My wing theme is the National Parks! I love the outdoors and camping, and I love seeing God’s creation, so I wanted to create a vibe similar to that. There will be vintage posters and greenery, things of that nature.
Being an RA: I am most looking forward to getting to know the women in my wing and having the opportunity to love them over the next year!
Wing Chapel: My vision for wing chapel is to have a bifurcated structure where the first day is focused on Spiritual discussion, and the second day is focused on prayer and community building. I want to take intentional time as a wing to encourage one another as we live alongside each other this year.
Wing theme: The wing theme will be inspired by the 100 Acre Wood.
Being an RA: I am most looking forward to meeting the new freshmen and working to build strong community on campus!
Wing Chapel: My plan for wing chapel is to explore spiritual disciplines and learn about what the Bible says about them, how they have been practiced by Christians throughout history, and how we can practice them now even as college students.
Wing theme: My wing theme is based on Psalm 16, "In your presence, there is fullness of Joy!”
Patrick Henry College exists to glorify God by challenging the status quo in higher education, lifting high both faith and reason within a rigorous academic environment; thereby preserving for posterity the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is the foundation of America.