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CNS /Update Newsletter Feature
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Two new employees joined the data center recently as we said good-bye to Joella Walz. Drake Emko and Russ Poole both started full-time jobs here in April. Poole probably looks familiar to some since he was a student consultant at NERDC.
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| Russ Poole |
Poole, a project coordinator for OIT-Net Services, worked on the Support Desk at NERDC in 1996. He then left to work as an outside network engineer/consultant. In April 2000, he started at the UF College of Design Construction and Planning as Director of IT. Poole returned to NERDC this April.
Now, he'll be helping with project management. "Specifically, I am the single point of contact for Facilities Planning and Construction on all new IT-related construction projects as well as renovations. I am also in charge of the pilot projects for the new 'Managed Service to the Wall-Plate' model. Finally, I coordinate any major projects that cross organizational boundaries," he said.
He is pursuing a Master of Business Administration and will graduate April 2003. When he's not working or studying, he teaches SCUBA at UF, teaches martial arts, runs marathons, and explores underwater caves in Mexico.
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| Drake Emko |
Before he started work at NERDC in April, Emko worked at a financial software company called QSP, Inc., as a Java programmer. He joins the Open Systems Group as a computer programmer.
"I'll help the department with whatever programming that needs to be done. And I will probably work closely with the other talented programmers here to develop J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) solutions for the university's various computer systems," he said.
He has a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University and is considering pursuing a Java Certification. Emko said he's enjoying the atmosphere of NERDC. "I like the people a lot. They are friendly, competent, and professional at the same time," he said.
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| Joella Walz sets up a presentation of the movies she made for her classes. |
Joella Walz is leaving OIT Net-Services to pursue her Master of Arts in Digital Arts and Sciences from the College of Fine Arts and hopes to graduate in May 2003. She will be taking an internship with Area North Post (a video production company) in the Atlanta area. Walz started at NERDC as a receptionist in 1996. After a leave of absence, she was promoted to Program Assistant. In February 2001, she moved "upstairs" to Net Services. We wish her the best.
Sharon Wheeler retired May 1 after 30 years with UF. She most recently worked at NERDC doing bulk data transfers for our accounting section for the past four and a half years.
Before coming to NERDC, she was Vice President for Health Affairs Office of Information Technology from 1977-1997.
In retirement, she'll be busy too. She and her husband will spend time renovating three houses: one is the 1853 house she lives in which they've already begun renovating; the other is a log cabin they built in 1982; and finally they want to renovate her mother's house. When not fixing up the houses, they want to travel to the Northwest, take a trip to Australia, and visit her grandchildren in Georgia. Good luck Sharon!
Two employees were recognized recently for their 25 years of service: John Bevis and Richard Marquis. Bevis, assistant director for NERDC, and Marquis, coordinator of computer applications, received their pins during a weekly meeting in April at NERDC. We are very proud of their accomplishments!
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