Oct. 14, 2008 issue

When I joined the Academic Technology and Computing Services department six years ago, it looked like a good opportunity to utilize my existing knowledge and to further my professional development. There were challenges in managing the computer labs, but they were solvable and that appealed to me. Eastern Michigan University has been a great place to work. The relationships developed at EMU have helped me grow personally and professionally.

Providing services and resources to students in order to help them complete their studies is very rewarding. In delivering those services, we often face interesting challenges requiring creativity to find a solution because we do not always have all of the resources we would like. There is a strong feeling of accomplishment when a solution is found.

As the assistant director of Academic Technology and Computing Services, I manage several of the site-licensed software packages for campus and maintain the Division of Information Technology computer laboratories in the Halle Library, the Student Center, Pray-Harrold and the College of Business. I also work with several of the academic departments' lab staff to share solutions that we utilize in our labs.

I am currently working to increase access to the software applications we provide in the labs. We want students to be able to run these software packages from their personal computers instead of having to come to the labs. I have some test users working with the application and hope to have something concrete this fall.

I plan to remain at EMU for some time. I truly enjoy my career and the people I work with. — Contributed by Krystin Jarrell

 

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