On the way in to work I meet two people that are frequently found near the Tree of Science.
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Paul Smernoff works in Jesup Hall as part of the Office of Information Technology, or OIT.
Paul is a member of the hard-working Network and Systems group, making sure that various aspects of the computing infrastructure work well for the hundreds of employees and thousands of students. It's a hard job and, as is often the case with service jobs on an academic campus, under-appreciated. Paul took a moment to discuss with me the college's current efforts to integrate several different calendar services on and off campuses. For those who doubt the complexity of providing resilient computing services, I have one question for you:
What will computers look like in 5 years?
Enough said.
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Ethan's back from time abroad in Tanzania. Ethan, a double major in Philosophy and Computer Science, spent time doing field studies in the wild in the morning, and sightseeing during the afternoon. "It was wild!" is a phrase Ethan uses as punctuation in discussing his experience. As is typical for students who study abroad, spending time with gracious host families has given him better perspective on opportunities he has been afforded in the US, and the relative isolation we all face in the social bubbles that surround each of us. During his last month he spent time studying independently, producing a report,
An Avian Analysis of Wooded Vegetation
Encroachment at Enashiva Nature Refuge, Tanzania. Ethan, of course, is not a environmental biologist, but he seemed quite appreciative of the opportunity to intensively study a subject outside of his (several) "bubbles of comfort".
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When people ask me about my job (and this seems to happen surprisingly often), I remind them that I have the best job in the world. I study what I want, in-and-out of my own personal "bubble of comfort", and working with some of the smartest people I've met. Staff like Paul make this possible and students like Ethan push me forward.
