Our Residence Life Assistants work hard in our residences to make life in halls the absolute best it can be.

Back in 2022, one of our amazing RLAs Penelope Milner received a Residence Life award from the CUBO (College and University Business Officers) Residence Life conference for all her hard work supporting students at Devonshire Hall!  

Penelope was nominated by the team at Devonshire Hall for making a significant impact in the community and working to promote sustainability by organising weekly litter picks on the grounds. She has also been working on developing a website about the Society of Old Devonians to celebrate the history of the hall, which first opened its doors to students in 1930.  

“Penelope is always willing to help others, she is organised, encourages other students to participate in events and community initiatives and is quite simply a huge asset.” -Darron Dixon-Hardy, Residence Life Warden for Devonshire Hall

After being shortlisted among Residence Life Assistants across the country as a nominee for the award, Penelope was one of six individuals who an international panel of judges named a 2022 CUBO Residence Life Student Star! Penelope said: 

“It was an honour to attend the CUBO conference to accept my Student Star Award in recognition of the work I have been doing in my Hall of Residence as the President of the Student Hall Executive in my first year and as a Residence Life Assistant in my second year.

Attending the CUBO conference was a fantastic opportunity to meet and share methods of best practice with other Residence Life teams and professionals from a range of universities in the UK. The conference also provided me with a variety of new perspectives which I am taking forward with me in my second year as a Residence Life Assistant. I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to become an RLA because I have learnt a great deal through my role and grown so much on a personal level.”

College & University Business Officers (CUBO) is an association for commercial and campus services working in higher education institutions in the UK and Ireland, providing opportunities to share knowledge and network with other providers across the country.

“We are all really proud of Penelope and were delighted to hear that she had won a national CUBO Residence Life Star Award. Residence Life Assistants (RLAs) play a pivotal role in providing a warm, safe and welcoming experience in many of our halls of residence and Penelope has demonstrated considerable care and commitment in her role at Devonshire Hall. Her dedication to building a supportive community both inside and outside of her halls of residence is outstanding and we are excited to have her return as an RLA for the 22/23 academic year.”- Rebecca O’Hare, Deputy Director of Accommodation and Residence Life at the University of Leeds.

The Residence Life team are extremely proud of Penelope and all her achievements throughout her time as a Residence Life Assistant. The work our RLAs, Residence Life Wardens and Residence Life Social Committees do within our residences is crucial to making the halls experience enjoyable for all our students, and we appreciate all the efforts from both students and staff that go into building our wonderful halls community. 

If you are interested in becoming an RLA with us next year, find out more and apply here before the 31 January!