This article was created by a Technology Services student employee. Our student employees attend, engage, and report on campus activities that feature technology. Students provide a unique perspective on how innovations in technology affect campus life.
In honor of Women’s History month, we wanted to highlight the accomplishments of remarkable women working in IT!
We interviewed some great talent from key units across our campus.
This is Amy Hovious, manager of Research IT support and cloud lead, part of the Innovation and Research IT team at Technology Services. She provides direction, strategy, and coordination of the university’s Research IT Support services. She also connects the various cloud efforts not only withinTech Services, but all over campus as well. I had the chance to chat with Amy, and ask her about her field, her work, and advice she has for women interested in the IT industry!
What drew you to your field?
I love to solve problems and find solutions. I am analytical but also want to help people – a puzzle solver with an eye towards enabling people to do great things. A career in IT affords me the opportunity to use my skills to serve people in impactful and innovative ways.
Can you tell me about a project you’re super proud of?
Absolutely! I led all aspects of the successful creation and implementation of the Research IT Portal, a placewhere researchers and those who support them can discover resources from all over campus no matter who provides them. I was able to lead a dynamic cross-campus team while managing the work of an outside vendor to build the first Research IT Portal. This was a large collaborative effort, where we worked with service providers, IT Pros, researchers, developers, and more.
I continually focused on the user-experience of the Research IT Portal letting that help guide my decisions throughout the process. While human-centered design was the approach, we also planned and implemented the latest cloud tools and technologies to make it run. So, I am proud of the back-end technology, the front-end experience, and all the relationships and collaborations that were built along the way.
What advice do you have for women interested in a career in your field?
First and foremost – go for it! If you have an interest, don’t be afraid to pursue it. Next, don’t be afraid to speak up. When you are in a meeting and you have an idea, share it.
Also, take advantages of opportunities as they arise. It may seem trivial or not what you had in mind, but these are the experiences that help you build connections and help to build new and sometimes exciting skills.
Most importantly, people are the key. Technology is awesome, but people bring the creativity, the dedication and the heart to make things work.