With many students, teachers, and other faculty/staff at DMACC needing IT assistance now more than ever, a new Network System Analyst is leading the way. Christian Cryder officially started working as a Network System Analyst this January for the Boone DMACC Campus.
“My job is basically to support the IT network here on campus and in student housing. With the help of my cohorts down in Ankeny, I’m in charge of making sure computer issues are taken care of, the network is up and running, and our servers are in good working order,” he said.
Prior to working at DMACC, Christian was an IT Coordinator at Midland Power Cooperative. Although he is new to the Boone Campus, this isn’t Christian’s first rodeo with DMACC.
“Working for DMACC is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, it stems back to my short time as an IT guy at the Ankeny campus. While there, I realized how much fun it is to work in the education environment, having all the different aspects of IT being at your fingertips, and working on the Boone campus, it works out for me because I live fairly close by,” he said.
Christian currently resides in Boone with his wife, a dog, and a cat.
“It’s definitely strange, being here with very few students,” he said, “it makes things a little different than my time at Ankeny, but it also gives me a little bit more time during the days to upgrade classrooms, fix issues that classrooms have without taking up too much of the students’ time.”
He continued, “Having to take to phone calls and emails to fix a lot of issues can be a challenge at times. Setting people up to work from home can be a challenge in itself as well, but it’s not something I wasn’t prepared for, at least in starting this current position. I had to navigate it all on my own at Midland, at least here, I have a great support system to help me with the ins and outs of the system.”
Amongst the challenges of starting a new position during a pandemic, Christian still has goals for his time at DMACC.
“My main goal with any IT job I’ve had is to build up trust with my customer base. The people who work with the technology I support are just as important if not more, and my goal is to make sure they don’t have their day interrupted due in part to my technology,” he said. “This job is just as much about customer service as it is about technology, and my biggest joy that I get out of this job is working with and talking to people.”
So how is it going so far?
“Hectic is the word I use the most, but in a good way,” he said. “There’s a lot of catching up to do, but that’s a good thing. I’d rather be too busy than not busy at all. Keeps me on my toes, and I learn something new about this place every day.”
For any IT questions or inquiries, contact Christian Cryder at crcryder@dmacc.edu.