My name is Owen Russell, I use he/him pronouns and have been a UC employee for 2 years now. I work for the University Center Tech Crew which is a part of the Building Operations department. We currently have 9 people on the Tech Crew and we’re supervised by Caleb Bols.

What does an average day look like working for the UC? What does your position entail?

   Tech Crew schedules look a lot different than the rest of the UC, we have very flexible scheduling where members of the team request shifts for the events that they want to work. Not every event in the UC needs tech but lots of bigger events in the Hamilton Room, Down Under, or other large spaces you can see a member of the tech crew in the back running lights and sound.

What does being a UC employee mean to you?

   Being a UC employee to me means customer service. My first ever job was at Culver’s where I learned the importance of treating customers with respect. The UC might not use customer service in the traditional sense but everyone that uses the space should be treated with respect and we should work with them to accommodate their needs.

What are some of the most memorable days/moments working for the UC?

   I have two favorite events that I’ve gotten to work at the UC, specifically, Fall 2023 Glow Night, and the drag show. Glow Night was a hard day, we worked for about 13-14 hours straight to get everything ready and run all of the events but even though it was really long I had a lot of fun. My favorite part of that was setting up lights on the roof of the UC. The drag show was another super cool event I got to help out with. I was running the sound and we got to really test how hard we could crank the speakers in the Hamilton Room.

Why should students visit the UC?

   There are lots of things I love about the UC but the main reason students should use it is because whether you like it or not we’re paying for it! The UC is funded by students which also means if there’s anything you don’t like you can change it! The UC is always working to change and refresh things to make it best suited for students.

How will your position at the UC help you in your future career?

   There are an infinite amount of things I’ve learned from working at the UC. I’m an IT major and I’ve learned just as many skills, if not more, from my job than I have from classes, not just technology related to, but it’s a lot easier to learn professional skills from live workplace experience than lectures.

How do you balance school, work, extracurricular activities, and a social life?

   It’s tough to balance everything, it took me until this year to really find a stride in everything I’m involved in, work, school, and a social life. The key for me is to stay as organized as possible through my calendar, I use it for everything, but also working ahead as much as possible in everything I can helps me make sure I stay on track with everything.