Faces of UUSA
Kevin Ayoub has a long history with UUSA and knows the unit inside and out. In 2001, he started as a community service worker cleaning tables in the food court. He worked his way up to
student building manager, and by 2004 was the Information Services Manager. By fall of 2004 he
was the full time building manager. In summer of 2006, he accepted his current position in the
Event Planning Office.
As UUSA Event Planner, Kevin works with student organizations on everything from small meetings to ring dances and concerts. “This is a dream job,” he says. “To me, it’s simple arithmetic – event planning plus student organizations equals fun.” When students come to him with an idea for an event “my favorite thing to say is ‘why not?’”
Kevin has become well known to students at Virginia Tech – try walking through the Squires atrium with him and count how many greet him by name. Students are often so grateful for his assistance that they bring him thank-you cards, baked goods, or t-shirts. He says the most rewarding aspect of his job is when students ask him to judge or emcee an event. “It must mean that they see me in a certain light, and that they trust me, that I am effective in my position,” says Kevin. “I mean, good performance reviews are nice, but knowing that I make an impact on peoples’ lives and their development here at Tech –that beats anything you can put on paper.” Kevin has emceed the Theta Nu Zi VT Idol show, as well as the Omega Psi Phi, inc. version of Showtime at the Apollo, now established as an annual event, and the Overton R. Johnson Scholarship Step Show.
Kevin is of Syrian, Lebanese, and Italian heritage and considers himself an Arab American. He grew up in Long Island, though his family is from Brooklyn. He still spends holidays with friends and family in New York.
Kevin graduated from Tech in 2006 with a degree in History keeps up with the subject through reading. Among his preferred magazines are The Atlantic Monthly, Time, and The New Yorker. Recent books he has read include A People’s History of the United States and The Twentieth Century: A People’s History, both by political scientist Howard Zinn, which provide alternative perspectives –often from the viewpoint of underrepresented groups--of American history.“Reading has helped me learn about myself and my beliefs,” says Kevin, who describes himself as a social liberal and a fiscal and foreign policy conservative.
When not at work, Kevin likes to play golf and is known for his unwavering commitment to wearing flip flops. He loves food and loves to cook, especially Italian cuisine. Champs is his preferred hangout and about once a week he works in the kitchen there, producing Champs’ frequent Friday night special, the “Rev Kev Philly” cheese steak. The “Rev” in the name is in reference to the fact that Kevin is an ordained minister, a role he was prompted to take on when his best friends asked him to perform their wedding in 2005. Since then, he has performed other weddings, among them that of Tom Tinley, UUSA Custodial Ops Specialist.