Meet the Computer Building Help Desk

Julie Perco

Comparative Literature

I have been at the CAC Help Desk for almost two years. I never imagined I would be a computer consultant and for such a long timewhen I first came here over three years ago.

Before joining the Help Desk staff, where I have had the opportunity to meet and work with a number of very nice, knowledgeable, and supportive people, I taught literature and foreign language courses at Penn State. I have two Master's degrees in English, one from the University of my hometown (Trieste, a very windy city on the Adriatic Sea, on the "old continent") and one from the State University of New York at Albany, where I studied thanks to a Fulbright scholarship. I am working towards a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and hope to complete my dissertation soon.

At the Help Desk I primarily help students, faculty, and staff members who have problems with Internet connections (e-mail, www, ftp, telnet), with word processing, printing, and many other applications. Despite the long time I have spent answering questions on these and other topics, I still learn something new every day.

I enjoy literature (my favorite author is James Joyce), photography, and films. I have also an unconditional love for cats, especially the stray, sick, and sorry-looking ones who always succeed in "adopting" me somehow. As a result, I have been happily living with two such kitties for over four years. They have even made the transAtlantic journey with me.

Dara Duman

Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management, and Management Science and Information Systems

I joined the Center for Academic Computing at the beginning of Fall 1997. I earned a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in Ankara, Turkiye. Presently, I am a concurrent master's degree student in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management, and Management Science and Information Systems. I plan to complete my studies at the end of Fall 1999. My research area is the applications/implications of computer networks in the hospitality industry.

I enjoy the very friendly, collaborative atmosphere at the Help Desk. My colleagues and the full time staff are always helpful. Working as a team is the answer for the most of the problems we encounter at the Help Desk. The first person who gets the question owns it and tries to fix it. This process can be very challenging because we sometimes get very complicated questions. At those times I try to ask as many questions related to the problem as I can to define it better. After I have exhausted all the options I can think of, then I ask around if anyone else has a solution for our client.

In my spare time, I like biking off road and hiking.

Frank Yoder

Business Administration

My tenure at the CAC Help Desk started in September 1998. I thought working here would be a great opportunity to help people and to increase my computer knowledge.

I finished my B.S. in General Science and Chemistry here at Penn State in 1992. Following residences in Philadelphia, Beaumont, TX and Harrisburg, I'm back at University Park, as a second - year MBA student.

Mountain biking keeps me healthy and sane, and saves time between classes and the CAC. My little free time is spent hunting and fishing (let me know if you're interested in bass fishing!) Additionally, I enjoy racquetball, politics and cooking.

I'm looking forward to a great experience at the Help Desk.

Kolawole Segun

Computer Science and Engineering

I joined the Center for Academic Computing Help Desk in September. My primary responsibility is to assist faculty, staff and students with various computer related problems. Most of the questions I've had to deal with have been mainly on Internet connection and e-mail. I enjoy the opportunity to help others out with their problems because in the process, I get to learn more about computers. There is so much to know about computers, and one person could not possibly know all there is to know about them. It helps to
be part of a wonderfully experienced team of individuals who are always willing to help out when I have problems I'm unable to resolve.

I was born and raised in Ibadan, Nigeria. I earned my Bachelors degree in Computer Science from the University of Ibadan before I came to the United States for graduate study. This is my first semester in Penn State and my first time in the United States. I have been to Togo and Benin, both in West Africa and London, UK. In my spare time I like to read a good novel, particularly spy thrillers but I've been known to indulge in science fiction occasionally. I also like to listen to music.

Ade Sholeye

Computer Science and Engineering

I am a graduate student (M.S.) in the department of Computer Science and Engineering and hope to graduate in the Spring of 1999. My areas of research include performance evaluation of dynamic routing protocols in an ATM.

I started working as a computer consultant at the help desk in fall 1997 and I enjoy it. Best of all is the work climatemy co-workers and the full-time staff are friendly, and we try to work seamlessly to support users with computer related problems. My responsibilities vary from answering e-mail questions to providing scientific computing support for faculty, staff, and students.

I am from Lagos, Nigeria, a coastal city with a beautiful beach, perhaps the best in the world! I like the outdoors, in addition to reading, meeting people, and writing computer programs.

Allen Stubblefield

Educational Psychology

I received my MA in Applied Experimental Psychology from WKU in 1994, and I am currently a doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology here at PSU. My foremost goal is to graduate before I am eligible for Social Security (it may be close). My teaching background includes courses in Introductory Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, and Educational Theory. My research interests include the study of cognitive and noncognitive factors influencing reading comprehension in younger and older adults, and the role of motivational factors on the development of knowledge structures and skills over time. My personal interests include hiking, horseback riding, percussion, mountain biking, weight lifting, and eating. I am, however, happiest when I am home alone with my wife Terri, my 8 year old son Daniel, and my dog Blink.

Maria Capellades

Electrical Engineering

I obtained a degree in Electronics Engineering at the Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, Venezuela. I then had the opportunity to work for one year at the Thin Films Lab at the University of Barcelona, Spain.

I went back to Venezuela to pursue a M.S. degree in Physics, and later I started a Ph.D. in Electrical
Engineering at Penn State in the area of computer vision.

My main work as a Ph.D. candidate is to develop systems capable of interpreting scanned engineering drawings and of converting them to CAD files.

Before coming to the CAC help desk, I worked as a teaching assistant at the Department of Electrical Engineering. I also worked as a Unix system administrator for the Computer Vision Laboratory at Penn State. My work as a consultant at the CAC help desk consists of assisting people with problems in Unix, Windows, and Macintosh operating systems, word processing, and Internet connectivity among others.

Working at the help desk has been an enjoyable experience which has given me the opportunity of meeting many of the people who make possible the proper performance of the vast and complex computing system of Penn State for the benefit of us all.