2024 SMASH Academy Head Residential Advisor (Michigan)

ABOUT SMASH 

SMASH is committed to increasing racial equity in K-12 computer science (CS) education and the next generation of our workforce by building interest, knowledge, and aspirations in computing among underrepresented identities in the field. 

After operating for more than 20 years and inspiring thousands of students of color to pursue careers in STEM, the SMASH Board has spent the better part of 2022-2023 reimagining SMASH in alignment with educational and economic shifts.

In this next phase of the organization, SMASH aspires to engage even more students from underrepresented backgrounds through a more intensively CS-focused curriculum and across a wider variety of formats. Innovative in-person and virtual programs aim to provide early exposure to CS concepts and careers to students of all ages, with deep-impact programming specifically for high school students.

Programming will continue to center on SMASH Academy, a three-week, cost-free, residential on-campus summer experience which helps students develop critical thinking, civic and social awareness, and leadership skills. Initially available at five partner sites across the country, this next phase of Academy supports rising 11th and 12th graders in developing CS skills and credentials.

With the support of partners, SMASH plans to offer additional in-person experiences for high school and college students with Hackathons and Open Innovation Challenges, which will provide early exposure to computer science (CS), empower youth to address pressing community challenges through CS, design thinking, and rapid prototyping.

To bring the SMASH experience to a national audience, we also plan to develop digital programs to support students nationwide in developing their CS knowledge and support their college and career navigation journey. SMASH digital resources will be open to students nationwide, while in-person programming serves students throughout the Bay Area, greater Atlanta, Detroit, and Boston regions.

This is a pivotal time for SMASH as SMASH builds on the success of our programs. Working at SMASH is about rapid growth, grit, personal commitment, accountability, and courage to challenge the status quo. If you have what it takes to change the computer science landscape, we want to hear from you.

SMASH is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization operating under the umbrella of the Kapor Center family of organizations. 

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The SMASH Residential Team is composed of the Residential Director, Head Residential Advisors HRAs), and Residential Advisors (RAs). The HRAs, with the direction of the RD, manage the RAs. 

The Head Residential Advisors (HRAs) support the Residential Director (RD) to oversee the residential team and youth development programming of SMASH Academy. The HRAs lead a team of Residential Advisors (RAs) and are responsible for ~100 high school students living on campus. With the direction of the RD, HRAs support the residential team in building a tight-knit learning community that is safe, empowering, and conducive to advancing scholars' interest in CS and social justice. The HRA is responsible for supporting other areas of programming, including local field trips and engagement with the surrounding CS community. Finally, the HRA is a leading authority figure in the residence hall and collaborates with the RD and additional HRAs. The HRA will be primarily engaged in providing academic instruction to SMASH Scholars.

This is a 2.5-week residential assignment, with an additional commitment of training + prep prior to launch and a close out after SMASH Academy, and requires living on campus full time with evening and weekend work requirements.

As this role has a virtual component, we expect staff to provide the following -- their own personal computer (desktop or laptop) that has a working webcam, speaker and microphone for video conferencing capabilities (i.e. Zoom, Google Hangouts, Cisco Webex); reliable Internet connection (at least 25 Mbps download speed); and quiet work space for virtual programming. If you cannot provide your own equipment, please speak with your Program Director.

All staff and scholars will be required to comply with the SMASH COVID-19 policy for in-person programming. Currently, staff working in-person are expected to test at least once each week they are working in-person with colleagues. Additionally, we encourage testing before and after in-person company and non-company sponsored events and travel. All staff and scholars must also comply with any site specific COVID-19 requirements. Site specific requirements will be shared as they become available and are subject to change. If a quarantine mandate is enforced by local government, university, or SMASH, all SMASH Academy programming will be held