You do make friends and learn a lot. It helps teach you skills in leadrship, counseling, responsibility, patience, and other skills too. Plus at the end of the job you have this great feeling of helping others. Truthfully, I went to Western Carolina University's summer programs for 3 consecutive years. I can tell you many stories about the RA's from the past.
Age starts to lose all meaning.
I had to experience taught repect. It was a mutual thing. Not to mention all of the fun things I got to do on the weekends with them, from mountain climbing to whitewater kayaking-and then as an RA you get paid. I've been consider a position of the sort for this coming summer, and I think it would be great. Of course there are always the troublemakers, the homesick ones, and the flings, but overall it seems quite exciting.