The Bulletin

Rebeca Stovall 

Technology Operations Manager 
Division of Student Life 
University of the Pacific  

If you had the opportunity to influence someone thinking about a career similar to your area of expertise, what career advice would you give them, knowing what you know now? 

Stovall 
Find a mentor. Absorb as much experience and tips you can from them. If you are still in school, get an internship. I did not start having mentors until later in my career, and I wish I had the valuable insights from their experience earlier on. It is also a great way to make networking connections early on. 

What do you foresee to be some of the biggest approaching challenges in meeting the technology needs of the communities you serve? 

Stovall 
A mixed generation of users. This can be addressed by training, but most people, old and young, want a simple and intuitive environment that is feature rich.  Making that happen in an interface that makes sense to all generations is actually fairly challenging. We tend to make assumptions about how the technology is used from our own lens, and therefore user testing becomes a key phase of the implementation.  

If you had a surprise budget windfall what would be a technological “dream purchase” you would make to benefit your facility and your students, and why? 

Stovall
I am a pretty lucky as my leadership and budget manager do a great job at reviewing my proposals for “asks,” and in many cases fulfilling them.  If I had a windfall, I would invest in more training resources, field trips to peer institutions, and marketing to brand our team.