Getting Involved in the Residence Halls
The Leadership Development Center is located in the Carpenter/Wells area and serves as a central hub for student leadership in the residence halls. Offices for the Residence Halls Association, National Residence Hall Honorary, & USH Student Staff Council are all located in the Leadership Development Center, as well as a wide variety of meeting and study rooms.
Howdy TECHsans
Howdy TECHsans are Texas Tech students who are interested in becoming involved on campus and helping other students move in. Howdy TECHsans move into the residence halls three days early in August to help get the building ready for opening, help students move in, help other Tech students get acquainted to Tech, and assist in getting students to participate in a plethora of Raider Welcome activities. Plus, Howdy TECHsans will have the opportunity to tap into a variety of other leadership opportunities and developments at Texas Tech throughout the year.
Hall/Complex Council
Each hall/complex has its own government. Like any other concentration of people within limited boundaries, the residence hall functions best when positions of leadership, organization and representation are established. For this reason each hall/complex elects a president, vice president and one to eight RHA representatives, depending on the population in the hall/complex. In order to assure fair representation of all residents, each wing or floor elects a wing/floor representative to attend hall/complex council meetings. From the hall/complex council, a secretary and treasurer are appointed or elected. The hall/complex council sponsors and coordinates the various activities of the community, such as mixers, charitable activities, recognition dinners, academic tutoring services, and intramural sports. Funding for programming is provided from a portion of the room and board rates residents pay to live in the halls.
Residence Halls Association
The Residence Halls Association (RHA) is comprised of all students who live in the residence halls of Texas Tech University. The objective of RHA is to promote residence hall life, develop new student leaders and act as the official voice of the students living in the residence halls.
The RHA General Council consists of representatives from each hall/complex. The president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and communications coordinator are the RHA officers. New officers are nominated at a council meeting in March and elected at the following meeting by the RHA council. RHA encourages all residents to make a difference, so get involved!
Within RHA there exists a number of committees. These committees enable RHA to sponsor various programs and events each year. The first program that RHA sponsors is Raider Round-Up, which concludes the campus-wide activities for Opening Week. This week helps to acquaint new students with Texas Tech University while easing the adjustment into college life. Other potential activities for the year include: Casino Night, leadership programs, diversity workshops, and the Carol of Lights. The RHA Carol of Lights Committee, with the cooperation of other campus organizations, coordinates one of Texas Tech University's most impressive traditions. Thousands of lights outline the buildings around Memorial Circle and the Engineering Key. Luminarias line the streets and walks. Following the outdoor ceremony, lights are turned on simultaneously and carols are sung to debut the holiday season.
At the end of each year, an Installation Banquet is held to install new RHA officers, honor individuals in the National Residence Hall Honorary and recognize individuals for outstanding performance. Awards include: Program of the Year, Hall Council of the Year, Most Improved Hall Council of the Year and Adviser of the Year.
To enhance leadership skills, RHA sends delegations comprised of interested residents to conferences on the state, regional, and national levels. These conferences provide an environment in which students can improve their leadership skills while having a great time with students from other universities.
National Residence Hall Honorary
NRHH is the recognition branch of the National Association of College and University Residence Halls, Inc. (NACURH). NACURH, as an organization, truly believes that recognition is a must in a strong residence hall community. As such, NRHH is there to make sure that we don't forget to give those needed and more than deserved pats on the back. The basic way NRHH works on campus is through a chapter. NRHH chapters have a very special way of recognizing those top leaders, by membership. The NRHH chapter membership (per school) is restricted to 1% of students living in the residence halls. So, once inducted into NRHH you can consider yourself a member of the top 1% of residence hall leaders. The NRHH national level consists of the National Office. The National Office is responsible for affiliating NRHH chapters, selecting national OTM (Of the Months), designing the apparel line (T-shirts, sweatshirts and pins) and a host of other tasks.