Reynolds Employee Profile
Where did you grow up and what was it like?
I grew up down the road in Petersburg. Being raised
mainly by my mother, she always made sure that I kept my mind on my studies
because she didn’t want me to be influenced by people who were involved with drugs
and gangs. I had a lot of friends (some I still keep in touch with) and
we always made sure to keep each other out of serious trouble.
How long have you worked for Reynolds? Have you been at the
Help Desk the whole time?
I’ve been here at the college for almost 11 years - and I
have been at the Help Desk the whole time.
Were you always a computer whiz, or did you learn along the
way?
I didn’t start learning about computers until high school,
but I became technically proficient when I joined the Air Force back in 2003.
Working with computers – especially faculty and staff with
computers with problems – can be stressful. How do you calm them down? How do
you keep yourself calm?
I have to admit that working in the Help Desk is not easy at
times, especially when trying to solve issues that don’t seem to logically make
sense. What helps keep both myself and users sane is when I can use
remote desktop to actually see what the problem is. I have to constantly
remind myself to not take issues personally because at the end of the day, the
user just wants to be able to get their work done and my job is to help them
get it done.
What are the most challenging and most rewarding
parts of your job?
parts of your job?
The most challenging part of my job is not being able to
figure out why something is not working because my mindset is that every
problem has a cause and a solution. The most rewarding part of my job is
being able to meet people that I have talked to over the phone as we can get to
know each other better.
What is the craziest computer issue you’ve ever had to
resolve (please, no names, just the issue!)?
The craziest computer issue I ever had was a few months ago when
a user called saying that she could not login to the Reynolds Intranet page but
could not login to her email account. I explained that even though they
both use the same password, the Intranet page would not allow her to login if
her password was expired, which would only be resolved through a password reset. She kept saying that she understood what I was saying but didn't understand why
she could not login to the Intranet page, which confused me because her
statement was a contradiction.
Long story short, after about 30 minutes of explaining the same thing over and over to her, she finally was exasperated and relented to a password reset. In trying to make her feel better, I told her that she didn't have to go through this again for another six months; whether I succeeded or not is up for debate.
Long story short, after about 30 minutes of explaining the same thing over and over to her, she finally was exasperated and relented to a password reset. In trying to make her feel better, I told her that she didn't have to go through this again for another six months; whether I succeeded or not is up for debate.
If you had one extra hour a day, how would you use it?
I would use the extra hour to catch up on some needed sleep.
What do you like to do when you aren’t being a superhero
computer technician at work?
In my spare time, I
like to cook, read books, and take road trips to different places (especially
places that I have never been to before).
What do like most about Richmond? Favorite places to visit?
Favorite restaurants?
I love that Richmond
always has something to experience and that it’s a short drive from my
house. My favorite places to visit are the Science Museum and the
Redskins Training Camp. My favorite restaurants are the Olive Garden,
Texas de Brazil, and Cracker Barrel.
If you won $100 Million in the Mega Millions lottery what
would you do with the money?
I would pay off some
bills, create a scholarship fund here at Reynolds, buy me a new house, and do
some travelling across the United States in an RV.
