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allowed me to continue with my degree with a reduced staff rate.
For the next three years my job was preparing paper documents
so that the appropriate punch cards could be created. Once
created, I then created the card deck used to load the data.
Lastly, I checked the results to make sure everything was updated
correctly.
In 1974, one of the programming staff was leaving for a better job
and the current director noted that I had the same degrees as that
programmer. He offered me that position and, yes, I believe you
know where this is going—I accepted. Since then my primary job
is to support the administrative offices that are part of the student
area (i.e. Registrar, Admissions).
What is a typical day for you?
Most of my day is spent writing scripts and processes for various
projects. If the project is a long or complex one, I may spend most
of that day on that particular project. Otherwise, I may spend part
of my time working on two or more smaller projects. I will answer
questions presented by administrative offices (i.e. the Registrar)
and I occasionally attend meetings.
What are the high points and/or low points of working in an IT
Department?
One of the high points in working in the IT Department at
Southeast is the wonderful co-workers in the department. The
atmosphere is friendly and we all try to support each other.
Another high point is the learning and growth that occurs when
new products are purchased. For me, this happened when I
switched from an old mainframe system, using COBOL and PL/I,
to a PC programmer, using PL/SQL, VBA code, and the APEX
system. Each new system created another learning opportunity
that I really enjoy.
What do you love most about working in IT?
Other than the great people that work in the department, it is the
gift of learning new things, of providing services to administrative
users, and of solving problems (both big and little).
What do you most often look forward to, when you come in to
work?
The most enjoyable part of my work is the problem solving. This
can include answering a specific question for an administrative
office, choosing the best programming approach to resolve an
issue or to enhance an application, and/or to tackling the definition
that users need in a major project.
What is the craziest or most difficult day you experienced
working in the IT Department?
In December 1979, the IT Department was still in Academic Hall.
The sprinkler system, in a classroom down the hall, went off…
flooding that classroom. In order to remove the water from the
classroom, the water was swept toward the men’s restroom on the
east end of the building. Unfortunately, not all of the water made it
to the restroom. The Computer Center (as IT was called then) was
receiving a lot of this overflow of water. Because the IBM CPU
and the auxiliary equipment rested on an elevated floor (with all of
the electrical and cable connections below the floor) there was
great concern that the water would damage the machines. You
never saw such a mad scramble to find something that would
absorb water. Everything that we found was dumped on the floor
leading up to the computer room…including trash can contents,
paper towels, and used green-bar paper. It worked! The
machines were saved, but it was touch-and-go for a while.
Overall, how would you assess you experience working in IT?
It has been an overall great time working in IT. The opportunities
to learn new things and to create new systems for users have
given me great satisfaction and kept me young in many ways.
If you were not in IT, what career do you envision?
When I came to Southeast to register for the Fall 1967 term, I was
determined to become a history instructor. I love the subject and
thought I could pass that love onto my students. Most of my family
members were educators, so teaching just seemed to be the thing
to do.
“One of the high points in working in the
IT Department at Southeast is the
wonderful co-workers in the department.
The atmosphere is friendly and we all try
to support each other.”
“I’ve worked for the IT Department as a
student worker, a clerical worker and as a
programmer.”
“Everything that we found was dumped on
the floor leading up to the computer
room…including trash can contents, paper
towels and used green-bar paper.
It worked!”
~Alexis Whitworth, Student