Elli Kate Beale manages classes, resident assistant responsibilities and Choreography Chair for the Golden Bulls while remaining a resource for the students around her.
TAMPA – Between classes, hours spent on the dance floor and being on duty as a resident assistant, USF student Elli Kate Beale has learned how quickly a college schedule can fill up.
Beale serves as a resident assistant while also participating in USF’s Golden Bulls Dance Club. Both roles come with responsibilities that extend beyond scheduled meetings and practices, requiring her to balance her time between residents, teammates, and academics.
“I definitely felt overwhelmed before,” Beale said. “I tend to work myself up a little bit and get stressed out when little things stack up, but I really do lean on my community.”
Her work as an RA can take between four and eight hours during a typical week, not including overnight shifts. Beale said those shifts run from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next day, and RAs also attend weekly staff meetings, complete roommate agreements, meet one-on-one with residents, and help organize community events.
Photo provided by Eli Kate Beale
A lot of that work happens behind the scenes.
“We do five additional weeks of training,” Beale said. “A lot of people don’t realize that we have meetings every single week from 8 to 10 p.m.”
Resident Joeli Samperio said Beale’s busy schedule does not prevent her from being available to the women in her community. Samperio described Beale as an easy and trusting resource residents can turn to when they need help or support.
The dance team brings another set of responsibilities.
Photo provided by Eli Kate Beale
Beale currently spends about two hours dancing during an average week as the Choreography chair, although that time changes depending on upcoming performances. During more competitive periods, she said she practiced at least six hours each week between competition practices and open classes.
“The competitive dance club honestly feels more than a club 90% of the time,” Beale said.
Choreography and cleaning weekends can include more than eight hours of dancing on weekends During the club’s end-of-year showcase, practices can take place as many as five days a week.
Beale also handles responsibilities outside of performing, including coordinating senior recognition, finding photographers and venues, editing music and reaching out to other campus organizations for collaborations.
“There’s just a lot of behind-the-scenes work with that as well,” Beale said. “There’s just a lot of little details that matter.”
Dance has been part of Beale’s life since she was 2 years old. She grew up participating in several sports, including flag football, basketball, tennis and cheer, before deciding in fifth grade to focus on dance and join her studio’s competitive team.
Her connection to the Golden Bulls began before she enrolled at USF.
Originally from Ohio, Beale learned about the club after her mother posted on Facebook about a visit to USF. A mutual connection through her high school dance team introduced her to a Golden Bulls member, allowing her to learn more about the organization before deciding where to attend college.
Beale said the club became “basically 50%” of the reason why she chose USF.
The Golden Bulls differ from some collegiate programs because much of their work is student-led. Beale said team captains choreograph routines, while members take on many of the responsibilities needed to keep the club running.
Her schedule extends beyond dance and housing. Beale is involved with the Suncoast Area Teacher Training Honors Program, has participated in USF’s Education Living Learning Community and tutors through Tutor-a-Bull. She also works with students at Joshua House, an all-boys foster home, where she said she typically spends eight to 12 hours each week providing academic support.
With several responsibilities competing for her time, Beale said she relies on the people around her when her workload becomes difficult to manage.
She said fellow RAs and dancers have been willing to switch shifts, adjust deadlines, or offer additional support when responsibilities begin to overlap.
For Beale, balancing everything does not mean handling every responsibility alone.
“I really do lean on my community,” she said.