The World of Tech

This interview was conducted with a fellow student who is very involved on campus through clubs, the theater department, a sorority and more. On top of all of that, she has been a member of the University's IT Student Service Desk.

Michaela Thomas, a senior at the Unvistery of Tampa studying Communications, sits in the same building on campus she works in doing homework and other work on her laptop.

1. Can you introduce yourself and tell me how long you've had a job at the IT help desk?

My name is Michaela Thomas I'm a senior at the University of Tampa originally from Maryland and I've been working at the IT desk for 2 1/2 years now.

2. Describe your passions and why this job is exciting to you?

I think what made me most excited about this job was the chance to help people. While most of the time it might seem really small, like helping someone reset their password, just seeing or hearing the relief you can give someone by resolving that issue for them, it's so fulfilling. I also think that I was so excited about this job because I'm honestly a little of a computer nerd so being able to have an outlet for that just made me so happy because I  already have so many other outlets like my sorority and the theater department but I feel like college is the time you need to explore every inch of yourself and this job let me have a chance to explore my nerdy side.

3. Can you tell me about your normal day on the job?

I usually work a few times a week at the student help desk in the 

Jaeb Computer Center building, and we are located right in the lobby which is great because we aren't hard to find. Then over the next couple hours, I sit at the desk and try to use my time wisely, sometimes I definitely just end up watching Netflix, while I also pick up any phone calls that come in and sometimes people end up coming to us in person to get help because they either don't know they could have called or they find it easier to describe their issue and work through them. Then at the end of my shift, I wait for the next person to get there if I can then I'm off to do other stuff.

Thomas scrolling on her computer while completing some homework.

4. What challenges do you face when it comes to being involved in this department and job?

I think the most challenging part is when you get someone who is just plain out mean. Like even when you try to help them if it doesn't work fast enough or something else goes wrong some people can really just end up taking it out but I feel like that happens in most jobs. I also think that some of the people don't take the job very serious and kind of don't try their hardest or best to help people and that's annoying for someone like me who gives everything a 110%, I want the other people on my team to do the same thing.

5. Can you tell me your favorite part of the job? 

I know I mentioned this earlier but I definitely think my favorite part of my job is being able to help people. I also really have found some good friends and met a lot of different people that go to the university because we get a wide array of people coming to us for help.

6. What do you think this job has given you to make you stay involved so long?

I think this job has honestly given me a lot, I definitely know how to reset passwords nows. I also think it has taught me what having a job is like in general and also how to work on my people skills and not take people's bad days personally. I also think it made me more confident in my IT abilities which will most defiantly help me in my career path in the future.

This interview has been edited for brevity, clarity, and style.