This year we have three new resident directors. Katherine Allison is the new resident director of Chase Hall, Alex Steeg of Evans Hall, and Travis Trotman of Fulton Hall.
Travis Trotman, resident director of Fulton Hall, describes Barbados, where he is from, as the birthplace of the well known artist “Rihanna and white grapefruits.” Trotman grew up in a Christian household as a PK, which he says helped shape his faith. He attended Houghton College for communications and vocal performance and earned his master’s in higher education and student development from Taylor University. His thesis was on: thriving in students of color at a predominantly white institution.
Trotman knew he wanted to go into residence life; it was simply a matter of where God wanted him. He was strongly encouraged to apply for a job at Gordon College by the resident director that he worked under at Taylor University, who had formerly worked in residence life at Gordon for 11 years. A phone interview led to an on-campus interview which led to Trotman eventually getting the job. Trotman hopes to “cultivate community that is not only a hall community but one that can be stretched across campus.” Travis says he is “an enneagram 3 to the core… I am loud. I am very much a people person. I love getting to know people, to the point where a lot of people think I am a student when they meet me… I want to be remembered as a friendly presence on campus.”
Alex Steeg, new resident director of Evans Hall, is originally from Bristol, Connecticut. Attending Gordon College for his undergrad, Steeg majored in Christian ministries and Biblical studies. Post-undergrad, he worked at Veracross, a software company, where he was an account manager, working with private schools to help them use their database and solve problems. After a year and a half, Steeg left to work at his church, Antioch Community Church in Beverly, as a pastoral resident. Through his various roles there, he found that his “sweet spot is working with college students.” When Steeg started his pastoral residency, he also began studies for a master of divinity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, which he completed this past summer.
During his time at the seminary, Steeg did an internship with Gordon College Residence Life and developed an interest in becoming a resident director. Steeg’s vision for Evans Hall is for it to “be the most spiritually vibrant place on campus… people coming alive a little bit more to who they are and understanding a little bit more of who God says He is and who He says we are.” Steeg describes himself as “the epitome of an Enneagram 9,” which is the peacemaker. He is also the director of REC IM, involved in Young Life, and has a one-year-old black lab/shepherd puppy named Lucy, who is “super friendly” and has a group of students who sign up to walk her.
Katherine Allison lived in Bermuda prior to coming to Gordon College. Growing up, Allison’s parents were involved in full time ministry helping to run a Christian guest house. Always having people around, she said, contributed to her becoming “someone who cares about hospitality a lot.”
Allison attended Gordon College as an undergraduate, initially with a double major in secondary education and english. After taking a Christian theology course, Allison switched to major in Christian ministries with concentrations in youth ministry, English, and a minor in business.
Allison then went on to Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, where she earned her master’s degree in theology. During her last semester, Allison did an internship at Gordon, where she was encouraged to apply as an RD. Allison’s vision for her hall comes from Luke 13:29, which reads, “And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.” Allison described this idea as “want[ing] to create a home for students here that is a peaceful environment, one where they know they will be cared for and looked after.” When asked her Enneagram type, Allison responded, “Well, the test told me I was a type 6.” In her free time Allison enjoys reading, embroidery, cooking, and baking, which she rationed as being due to the fact that “there was always good food in my house growing up and people always want to come for baked goods.”
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