Jobs On-Campus Student Jobs
Culture Guide / Resident Advisor
Position Details
| Department | International Education |
| Reports To | International Program Coordinator |
| Time Commitment | Typical work hours: 10-7 with evenings on-call, 30-40 hours/week |
Position Summary
Every summer International Education (IE) hosts groups of university and high school students from China, Korea, and Spain, and Mexico. Students will take ESL and seminars classes in the morning and will participate in cultural field trips in the afternoon. To support the Summer 2026 Short Term Program (STP), IE is looking for outgoing NU students with strong leadership and organizational skills to serve in key leadership and service roles.
IE Culture Guide – Resident Advisors (CG-RAs) will provide primary evening residential support for STP participants hospitality, and some field trip and activity leadership as needed.
The CG-RAs will work together with guidance from the IPC to plan, prepare, and deliver on-campus activities to provide an American cultural experience for program participants as necessary.
As part of the training and preparation for the program, the CG-RAs will collaborate with the IPC and IE team to research the cultural background of each guest group and to practice cross-cultural communication skills, in order to provide culturally sensitive hospitality and to support the cross-cultural adjustment of our guests.
CG-RA will work for nightly on-call duties and will work as a group to support opening and closing activities for the group.CG-RAs will be expected to take evening on-call duties following the standards for Residence Life set by NU Student Development. They will enforce university policies, and will provide friendly and professional assistance to Short Term Program guests. CG-RA will be expected to assist with the IPC to facilitate transportation for group field trips and to assist with arrival, orientation, and departure activities. CG-RA will participate in weekend and evening activities on a flexible schedule.
This is a full-time hourly position (30 - 40 hrs/wk). CG-RAs will receive room and board.
Position Details
Anticipated dates: July 5th - August 1st (subject to change due to STP scheduling).
Typical work hours: 10-7 with evenings on-call.
Compensation: Hourly wage plus room and board.
Applications due: Monday, June 1st, 2026
Essential Functions
Residence Life
- Fulfill a Resident Advisor role with scheduled On Call hours.
- Support the residence needs of participants.
- Assist with arrival, orientation, and departure activities.
Instructional Activities
- Assist with transportation for group field trips as needed.
- Collaborate with International Program Coordinator and other Culture Guide-RAs (if any) to plan, prepare, and deliver engaging cultural activities for Short-Term ESL group.
- Contribute a portfolio of activity plans and resources at the end of the program, for ongoing use by the Short-Term Programs (by upload to Google Drive).
- Participate in performance review and implement constructive feedback from supervisor.
Intercultural Communication
- Support the cross-cultural adjustment of participants.
- Read assigned intercultural communication text.
- Complete personal research on cultural backgrounds of assigned visiting groups.
Perform other work-related duties as assigned.
Education/Experience/Skills
- NU students with majors in Intercultural Studies, International Business, Organizational Communication, Political Science, or Management will be given priority for the Culture Guide-Resident Advisor positions.
- Residence Life and/or Conversation Partner experience preferred.
- Strong cross-cultural experience and demonstrated cross-cultural interest preferred.
- Relevant completed coursework: Intercultural Communication, Anthropology, etc.
- Ability to maintain positive, high-energy interactions with large groups of people.
- Ability to take initiative to resolve challenges with minimal direction.
- Ability to follow through on commitments in a fast-paced team setting.
- Afternoon, evening, weekend, and some morning availability.
- Clean driving record.
- Demonstrated commitment to maintaining a safe work environment free of harassment, violence, and unlawful discrimination.
- Ability to communicate effectively, get along well with co-workers, and deal effectively and professionally with colleagues.
Working Environment
- Work is generally performed on campus or on day trips to Seattle tourist attractions.
- Some weekend/evening work required.
- Requires work in outdoor weather conditions, including rain and sunshine.
- Work may require occasional exposure to blood borne pathogens.
- May be exposed to loud noise levels.
Physical Demands
The functions are usually performed while standing, but may involve some amount of time sitting, stooping, kneeling, bending, crouching, lifting (max. of 40 lbs.), walking, carrying, reaching, stretching, climbing, performing repetitive motions of the hands or wrists and other movements. The abilities of seeing, hearing and speaking are also required.
Lifestyle Standards
Recognize, understand, and agree to live by the spiritual, moral, and ethical standards of Northwest University, as outlined in the Employee Manual.