Working in Residence Life at a university can be an extremely tedious job.
You never know what to expect, and how well you do your job mostly depends on the actions of other people.
This all applies for Trevor Mannausa, UDM assistant director of Residence Life.
“The biggest thing people have to realize is every day is a new day,” Mannausa said. “The resident advisors (RAs) send reports every night. There is either something you have to deal with or no issue at all. You never know when to expect the worst.”
Mannausa spends two weeks on call, then two weeks off call.
When on call, he cannot travel more than 20 minutes away from the school.
“UDM becomes a lifestyle,” he said.
Mannausa graduated from Ohio University, where he obtained a master’s degree in college student personnel. He did not come to UDM immediately after graduation, however. He worked at the University of Dayton as well as Columbus State University in Georgia.
Eventually, Mannausa came to UDM to get back to his roots.
“I came to UDM because I’m from the Detroit area and I wanted to come back to my family,” he said. “I really enjoy it here.”
While Mannausa has spent the last three years as the residence director for Shiple Hall, he has lived all over the world due to previous employment.
Germany, Italy, Belgium and South Korea – he has lived in them all and values the cultures that he has learned about.
His living situation at UDM isn’t all bad either, he said.
He has an apartment-style living area in Shiple. It consists of four rooms together with a kitchen, bathroom and living room.
He also has the company of his dog, Charlie.
Mannausa adopted Charlie in the fall of 2011 from a rescue facility in Georgia.
Being the residence director for a college dorm can definitely lead to some interesting experiences.
When asked to recall a favorite funny memory from his time at UDM, he conjured a memory from his first semester in Shiple.
“I started walking around on the guys’ floors and everyone would ask, ‘Who is this random guy?’ It was pretty funny. I think everybody knows me now,” he said.
Mannausa is happy to see the growth in the original group of kids he had while living in Shiple during his first year.
“It’s really great to see how much people change,” he said.
