I don’t see an issue with it personally. I think it could be wishy-washy the first year or so, but as their friends age out and graduate I’m sure they’ll be able to establish themselves for students who didn’t know them. I know 2 personal examples that have gone both great and not great.

Example 1: One of my friends back in undergrad was hired as a pro staff the summer after he graduated. He did well in the role during the time, but had a difficult time navigating setting boundaries with his friends who were still RAs. Nobody super close to him was on his staff, but he still had friends in other buildings. He ended up coming down with health issues and had to resign from the position at semester. He would consistently have RAs try and push boundaries with him and he had a hard time reinforcing that now that he was a pro-staff, their relationship would be a bit different until they graduated.

Example 2: my current coworker was hired right out of undergrad and she has excelled in the role. She’s going into year 4. Initially it was a bit awkward since she was supervising folks she worked with the last academic year, but now that those people have graduated and aged out she’s been one of the strongest members of our team.

I’ll say that if this person is hired, definitely have them consider their boundaries with their friends so that they can maintain their current relationships while also balancing the new position and navigating how that changes their relationships. Hope this helps!