Get to Know Us

New Year’s Resolutions by ITS

Stock photo of notebook with list of new years resolutions and objects on pink background

The start of a new year often inspires us to make new resolutions. Maybe you’d like to learn a new language or take care of your health. Keep reading to learn more about ITS’s resolutions and how we’re planning to keep them. 

Stretch every day

Tess Walsh, the technology training specialist, is determined to stretch more in 2025 for increased flexibility and improved athletic performance. She recently downloaded Bend, a free app available in the App Store and the Play store. Bend has different stretching routines based on goals, body part, or situation—her current favorite is the six-minute desk stretch.  

Click here to learn more about the Bend app.

Increase daily step count 

Michael Krikonis, ITS’s manager for client support, is planning to get in more steps this year by using the pedometer feature already installed on his phone. For most Androids, you can find your steps in the Google Fit app; on iPhones, this information is in the Apple Health app. Start stepping now so you’re ready for the walkathon challenge Clark University HR hosts each summer! 

Click here to follow directions to find steps & activity on Android phones

Click here to learn more about how to use Apple Health

 

Read new books

Help Desk Technician Jarrod Evans is excited to read more using the Kindle app on his phone (no Kindle device necessary!). The app is easily installed on phones or tablets and allows him to read on the go whether he’s waiting in line at the pharmacy or taking his lunch break. The Kindle app can also be used with Libby to borrow ebooks from your local library.

Click here to get the Kindle app.

Click here to get started with Libby.

Create a video game

Lev, ITS Help Desk Student Supervisor, hopes to create a video game this year. Currently, he’s developing the storyline for his game, which revolves around a young frog on a quest to reconnect with an old friend. Using Unity as the game engine and Aseprite for art, Lev is eager to dedicate more time to passion projects in 2025.  

Limit screen time

Help Desk Coordinator Sharon Griffin-Edson looks forward to reducing screen time on her iPhone to focus more on cooking, walking, and spending time with family. There are many available options, including apps like ScreenZen and Forest, designed to encourage better screen and scrolling habits, as well as the Focus function built into iPhones.  

Get to Know Us: Efrem Sidi-Shire

College student smiling at the camera on a boat wearing a rain jacket and glasses

“My favorite part of working here is definitely the people. I’ve made a lot of friends at the Help Desk. It’s a good working environment.”

This month we meet one of ITS’s incredible student workers: Efrem! 

Efrem is a senior at Clark and one of ITS’s Help Desk Student Supervisors. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he is a dual citizen of the United States and England studying political science and Spanish. Last year, he studied abroad in Argentina and highly recommends a visit there for the food, culture, and natural beauty. 

 At work, Efrem enjoys spending time with his coworkers and solving technical problems. If you’re having an issue, his number one tip is to ask him (and yourself) how to prevent it from happening again.

Outside of his work at the ITS Help Desk, Efrem co-runs Clark’s squash club and plays Spiderman video games.  

 Check out Clark Squash on Instagram or stop by the Help Desk to say hi! 

 

ITS Gift Guide 2024!

Tis the season for holiday feasts and holiday shopping! ITS is happy to share our top gift recommendations for everyone on your list this year. If you have any questions about our gift picks, let us know! Click here for ITS contact information.

While Clarkies have access to The New York Times and its many recipes through Goddard Library, not everyone is so lucky. That’s why Dorothy Erickson, academic technologist, is planning to gift a NYT Cooking subscription to the aspiring culinary connoisseurs in her life. NYT Cooking helpfully provides a digital recipe box and even makes a grocery list based on your selected recipes. Dorothy’s favorite recipes from NYT Cooking include gochujang caramel cookies, Japanese soufflé pancakes, and slow cooker chipotle-honey chicken tacos. 

Click here to gift a NYT Cooking subscription!

Self-proclaimed “enthusiastic driver and campus card coordinator Sean Ryder suggests buying a Viofo A119 dash cam for anyone concerned about safety and accountability on the road. This device records in 1440p at up to 60 frames per second, ensuring clear and detailed footage. It also features excellent night vision, HDR capabilities, and a 140-degree field of view, making it one of the best in the industry. With the Viofo A119, you can capture important details such as license plate numbers, providing peace of mind and valuable evidence in case of any incidents on the road. 

Click here to check out the Viofo A119 dashcam on Amazon!

A reliable thermometer might be the secret ingredient your Thanksgiving meal is missing. Cooking by temperature is recommended by the USDA for food safety and relied on by chefs for consistent (and delicious results). With a range of up to 550° F, Joe’s pick can be used for grilling, baking, frying, and candy or sugar molding. It automatically turns on when picked up and rotates its temperature display for easy use no matter where you’re cooking.  

Click here to view the Chief Information Officer’s favorite thermometer!

Thais, ITS’s junior endpoint administrator, bought an Aura digital picture frame for her mom last year. According to her, it has been the gift that keeps on giving, as Thais and the rest of her family can quickly and easily surprise Mom with new memories by sending photos directly to the picture frame. As the frame cycles through different photos, it often sparks conversation about favorite trips, meals, and new adventures. Aura is one the best-reviewed digital picture frames on the market, including an interactive touch bar, a speaker for videos, and automatic night mode. 

Click here to take a look at the internet’s favorite digital picture frame!

This year, Help Desk technician Jarrod has his eye on the new BOOX Palma, a sleek and portable ePaper/eReader device. Not quite a Kindle, not quite a phone, the Palma is somewhere in the middle: it’s the size and shape of a phone and allows for app installation via the Google Play store, but the unique and responsive eInk display makes it ideal for reading on the go. The Palma also integrates with the Libby app, features a camera for digitizing documents, and automatically adjusts its lighting to your surroundings for an optimal reading experience. 

Click here to learn more about this unique device!

If you or your loved one’s green thumb has the winter blues, check out the AeroGarden. Sharon Griffin-Edson, Help Desk coordinator, has this mini herb garden on her kitchen counter and loves it. Known around the Help Desk for her cooking and baking, Sharon claims fresh herbs make all the difference in her dishes. Plus, the AeroGarden comes with everything you need to get started, including plant food, seeds, and a growth light. Other AeroGarden kits can help you grow flowers, cherry tomatoes, peppers, salad greens, and more! 

Click here to check out Sharon’s secret culinary weapon!

If you’re tired of ringing ears after a concert or asking your friends to repeat themselves in a crowded restaurant, these versatile ear plugs are for you; Tess Walsh, our tech training specialist, never goes anywhere without them! These unique ear plugs feature a small switch in them to customize noise level. The lowest setting filters out background noise, while the highest setting reduces much more noise for quiet commutes, focus time, or sleep. They also come in cool colors, including gold and silver, for an earring-like look.  

Click here to learn more about some incredible ear plugs!

Curious about drones? Michael Krikonis, Manager for Client Support, recommends the SC5 Elite as a perfect choice for beginners.  

The SC5 Elite comes as a kit with two batteries, a controller, extra blades, and a carrying case. Michael particularly likes that the controller on this model includes a button for take-off and landing assist to avoid rough landings. The controller also includes a phone mount to pair with your smartphone and the Snaptain flight app to navigate the drone and capture video and images from above. This is a fun, easy-to-fly drone, but be careful in windy weather as it is on the smaller side.  

Click here to check out this lightweight drone!

Get to Know Us: Shasha Yu

This month, we meet Shasha Yu, a Business Analyst & Report Writer in ITS.  

Woman with dark hair, wearing a green shirt, smiling at the camera

Shasha has been with Clark University for 3 years. Before joining Clark, she gained extensive experience in IT project development and management in China, as well as conducting computer science study and research in computer science in the UK. A naturally curious person who loves to explore, Shasha has a multidisciplinary educational background in data analytics, computer science, psychology, and law.  

In her role in ITS, Shasha takes raw data and “cooks” it into valuable insights and information just like a chef transforms ingredients into a delicious meal. There is always a new challenge to solve, which is Shasha’s favorite part of the job, and she is on a mission to help people at Clark use data to make better decisions and improve efficiencies. Even though data can be daunting, Shasha takes advice from Laozi, a renowned Chinese philosopher, when working on complicated problems: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (千里之行始于足下).”  

Outside of her work at Clark, Shasha loves to travel and read: a perfect day for her would look like spending quality time on a small island, enjoying the natural scenery and getting lost in a good book. To get there, she’d love to learn how to fly an aircraft (especially if she could do it instantly) so she could explore new places freely and see the world from a unique perspective.  

If you’d like to connect with Shasha to discuss data, traveling, or philosophy, you can find her contact information here.  

Get to Know Us: ITS Bot

ITS Bot is an automated support assistant designed to answer ITS-related questions quickly and connect you to the Clark-supported technology solutions you need. Say hi to ITS Bot here! 

ITS Bot has been answering questions on the Clark ITS website since 2023. Prior to arriving in Worcester, they “grew up” in Raleigh, NC with over 700 siblings as part of the Ivy AI family. ITS Bot and their family now work at state offices, hospitals, and colleges across the country.  

What do you do? 

I sort through all the information on the Clark ITS website in a few seconds to provide you with relevant information and guide you to the right place so you can save time and learn more. I can also help you open a ticket with the Clark ITS Help Desk, to get the right help for your question. Best of all, I am available twenty-four hours a day, and just a browse and a click away. 

Can you help me do other things, like register for classes or pay my tuition bill? 

I can only help with ITS questions right now. You can always call the Clark University main phone number at 508-793-7711 to be routed to the correct office for your request.   

Are you a real person? 

Nope! I’m an AI assistant. However, I do get occasional support from my human coworkers, so please be kind during our conversations 😊  

Get to Know Us: Becky Tamm-Shettler

This month, we meet Becky Tamm-Shettler, Clark University’s Endpoint Systems Manager.  

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Becky has worked in higher education technology for over 30 years, with the past year here at Clark. The best part of her experience working here so far, she says, is getting to spend every day with the incredibly conscientious Endpoint team and connecting with others in the ITS department to learn new things and solve problems.  

As Endpoint Systems Manager, Becky is responsible for purchasing and provisioning computer hardware for all university needs—basically, Becky makes sure everyone gets the computer they need to do their best work! To better understand IT work and its processes, she recommends reading Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande or watching the series Halt and Catch Fire, a period drama about the early decades of computer development.  

When Becky’s not working, she loves traveling, gardening, hiking, sewing, and riding her ebike. If you’d like to learn more about what she does, or chat about your next travel destination, click here find Becky’s contact information. 

Get to Know Us: Julian Killo

A man sits at a computer, smiling.This month, we get to know Julian Killo, a Network Engineer in ITS. Julian started working at Clark in 2022 as a grad student and transitioned to working full-time in September 2023.  

Prior to joining the Clark community, Julian worked on major projects, like implementing public WiFi and conducting enterprise resource planning, with the Municipality of Tirana and Bechtel Corporation. With over 15 years of experience in creating successful IT solutions, Julian continues to advance his extensive technical knowledge by pursuing a Master’s in Information Technology while working at Clark. 

Being a network engineer means that Julian maintains the behind-the-scenes networks and systems that power organizations (and he gets to play with all the fun tech toys). His favorite part of the job is tackling complex problems and finding solutions that allows Clark to do more through technology. According to Julian, “There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing all the pieces – servers, networks, systems – come together and support organization, performance, and reliability.” 

If Julian could learn from any person in history, he’d love to pick the brain of Dennis Ritchie, the American computer scientist who created the C programming language and co-developed the UNIX operating system. This language changed modern computing and still underpins most operating systems today.  

When he’s not thinking about networking or programming, Julian loves to watch Premier League and Serie A soccer. If you’d like to chat with Julian about soccer or click here to find his contact information

Get to Know Us: Lara Winter

A woman with red hair, dressed in a blazer, smiles at the camera

This month, we say hello to Lara Winter, ITS’s Business Analyst and Report Writer.  

A native New Englander, Lara Winter recently returned to the East Coast after spending 7 years in the Twin Cities at the University of Minnesota in the Technology Commercialization office, which allowed her to get a first look at all the fascinating inventions spinning out of the U. Her curiosity also extends to other fields; she has a criminology master’s degree in Transnational Crime, Justice & Security from the University of Glasgow. 

In her work, Lara helps people help themselves: she spends time automating and standardizing processes so her team can focus on solving problems creatively. Her favorite part of her job is solving those puzzles and building new processes piece by piece. As she says, “It’s satisfying seeing a slogging process turn effortless and streamlined.” 

Outside of work, Lara enjoys exploring and collecting relics in her favorite video game, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and competing with her sister to learn Swedish on Duolingo. This winter, she’s hoping to try snowshoeing and share her favorite horror movie recommendations with other aficionados of the genre.  

If you’d like to chat horror movies, video games, or learn more about the puzzles Lara solves in ITS, contact her here!  

Get to Know Us: Thais Santos

Thais Santos, Clark's Junior Endpoint Administrator, at her college graduation wearing cap and gown

This month, we learn more about Thais Santos, Junior Endpoint Administrator. 

Born and raised in Massachusetts by Brazilian-born parents, Thais joined ITS’s Endpoint team in August after graduating from Framingham State University. As Junior Endpoint Administrator, Thais ensures certain settings and software are in place on Clark devices before they are used. Her favorite part of working in ITS is the ability to see different aspects of the technology world mesh and interact with one another, although her perfect day would be spent at the beach with her family and boyfriend rather than in Carlson Hall. Outside of work, Thais loves to watch football, play volleyball, and dreams of being fluent in any language she can hear. If you’d like to learn more about Thais’s position or suggest language-learning tips, click here to contact her! 

ITS Gift Guide 2023!

It’s that time of year again! The cold weather is rolling in, the holidays are approaching, and gift lists are being written. ITS is happy to share our top picks for this season, just in time to shop the sales this weekend. If you have any questions about our recommendations, let us know! Click here for ITS contact information.

picture of touchpad and digital lock on a background decorated with snowflakes

Joe Kalinowski, CIO and VP of ITS, uses the Yale Assure Lock 2 at his house and recommends it to anyone looking for simplified home security. This system connects to your Apple Wallet or the Yale Access app to lock and unlock doors. No more fumbling around for keys in the cold weather! The included keypad also allows you to create temporary, scheduled, or permanent codes connected to specific people. For example, if you’re out of town for the holidays and need the pet sitter to come check on your precious pooch or charming cat, you can assign them their own code which will expire on a set date. You can also view lock history, double-check your home is secure, and share access from anywhere, anytime. Click here to learn more about the Yale Assure Lock 2.  

Picture of Mario Brother characters on a background decorated with snowflakes

Joanne Dolan, the Director of Academic Technology and Client Support, has a nostalgic tech gift recommendation. For those who grew up playing on Gameboys or Super Nintendo Entertainment Systems, Super Mario Bros Wonder is a perfect way to rewind the clock this holiday season or introduce younger family members to Mario’s adventures. Featuring all the classic characters you know and love, multi-player support, and new kingdoms, Super Mario Bros Wonder is fun for the whole family. Available on Nintendo Switch. Click here to view a preview of the game.  

Picture of a nixie clock on a background covered with blue snowflakes

Director of Infrastructure Jason Trinklein has the perfect gift recommendation for the retro tech enthusiast on your list: a Nixie tube clock! Nixie tubes are numerical display technology with a rich history: they were commonly used in science labs, ships, submarines, and other applications needing a numerical readout prior to the 1970s. Unique and eye-catching, these clocks are available in pre-assembled and do-it-yourself kits. Jason got his DIY kit through GRA & AFCH out of Ukraine. Click here to browse options from this company, and click here to learn more Nixie tubes 

Picture of black mug on a background covered with blue snowflakes

Help Desk Coordinator Sharon Griffin-Edson is tired of her coffee going cold while she’s working, so this year she has the Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug on her wish list. This sleek, stylish mug comes with a charging coaster and an optional smart phone app to keep coffee (or your beverage of choice) hot for several hours. The mug also comes with auto-safety features so you can feel peace of mind while leaving it at your desk. Click here to learn more about the Ember mug! 

Picture of neck temperature device on a background covered with blue snowflakes

Jarrod Evans, ITS’s Help Desk Technician and Best Buy expert, is hoping for a Coolify 2s this holiday season. This handy wearable device functions as a personal air conditioner in the summer and an electric scarf in the winter to keep you comfortable all year round. The Coolify 2s holds up to 28 hours of battery life and uses Bluetooth to connect to a smartphone app for easy, intuitive temperature adjustments. Click here to learn more about Coolify 2s. 

Picture of Kindle Scribe on a background of blue snowflakes

Tess Walsh, the technology training specialist, has the Kindle Scribe on her wish list this year. A writer and reader at heart, Tess loves the dual functionality of the Scribe, which comes with a stylus for sketching and writing by hand. Perfect for those who love the engagement of annotating documents and the functionality of digital notes, the Scribe has a longer battery life and bigger screen than its predecessors. For the most bang for your buck, Tess recommends checking out the app Libby to borrow and read ebooks from your local library. The Goddard library also offers this ebooks and Libby – click here to check it out! Learn more about the Kindle Scribe by clicking here.