Many varsity athletes fondly refer to her as their "mom away from home," but the rest of the University has probably never heard of Suzie Zeunges.
Officially, she is the assistant equipment manager for the Athletics Department, but to those who know her, she's much more than that. Even if she is up to her nose in dirty laundry after a few late-night varsity games, the country music will be blaring on the radio, and Zeunges will be running around in her shorts and T-shirt, probably laughing.
The equipment room at Wilson Recreational Center is Zeunges' world, and as she says, "College athletics is a totally different world--definitely not the real world."
When someone walks into the room in need of new shoes, Zeunges knows her shoe size by a glance. When someone forgets her locker combination, she's on top of that, too, although she sometimes jokingly throws out random numbers because it gives her yet another chance to laugh.
It's up to Zeunges to oversee the equipment for all varsity, club and intramural sports, physical education classes and general recreation. Her duties range from washing varsity athletes' laundry and ordering balls to checking out horseshoes for employees. Even with all those tasks, Zeunges rarely misses a beat. In fact, she makes it look simple.
"We take care of things so coaches can coach and players can play," she said. "[The athletes] need as much support as they can get. If we can get them to laugh a bit, then it's just fun. We're just along for the ride."
Zeunges, who grew up outside Washington D.C., said she always loved sports and can remember watching Georgetown University basketball while her father slept beside her on the couch. She was a student manager for the football team in high school and also later at Virginia Tech, where she completed her undergraduate degree. After college, Zeunges attended a conference held by the Athletic Equipment Managers Association and took an offer from Duke in August 1995.
The job was not easy at first, as Zeunges suddenly had to go from being a student to being a professional in a student atmosphere. But, she recalled, her first summer working alone made her realize she could do her job because all the coaches and athletes had faith and confidence in her.
Now, Zeunges not only loves her job, but also realizes she can make a difference.
"Not everybody's gonna remember you, but those that do, you want them to remember in a positive way," she said. "You can touch another person's life even if you don't know it."
Ali Curtis and Nii-Amar Amamoo, both Trinity '01, played soccer at Duke and are two athletes who had a special relationship with Zeunges. In fact, they still come back to visit.
"She makes everyone's life easier," Curtis said.
Amamoo agreed. "[Zeunges] is the epitome of Duke athletics. She keeps us looking good."
Amamoo, who was working close to the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, was able to call two people to tell them he was safe--one was his sister, the other was Zeunges.
"He called me so that I could let everybody know that he was okay," Zeunges said. "He couldn't get ahold of his mom... so he called this family member."
Janay McKie, a senior on the track team, also said her contact with Zeunges goes beyond just equipment. McKie, who said she often stops into the equipment room before practice just to chat, refers to Zeunges as a dependable and coordinated person who's always "genuinely interested" in the athletes and their lives.
"I tip my hat off to her," McKie said.
The University is lucky to have her, said David McClain, who works alongside Zeunges in the equipment room.
"Suzie's real good with the athletes. She's a benefit for Duke," McClain said. "It's rare to find somebody who cares for the athletes as much as she does��you don't get that at some other schools."
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