Peter Vander Velden
vandervp@uww.edu
(262) 472-3214
Spotlight
Q: What do you do – explain how you fit into ICIT?
A: My responsibilities seem to shift a little bit every few months or so, but generally speaking I’m the campus AV guy. I support a majority of the campus audio, video and instructional technology. That means I spend a lot of time in classrooms either hooking up new equipment, or trying to fix old equipment. I do a lot of work with the Crestron control systems found in classrooms, as well as projectors, document cameras, and Blu-ray players. I dabble a little bit into the Desktop Support side of things, if I need to in a room, going back to my days of managing a Geek Squad. I’m excited that my team is growing and I now work with a couple of AV tech students as well.
Q: One thing people don’t know about you?
A: My wife and I have two beagles named Ellis and Maggie.
Q: What is your favorite hobby?
A: I have a number of things I really enjoy doing outside of work, but my favorite hobby is probably snowboarding. I have been a lot in Wisconsin and Minnesota, but really need to get to Colorado soon. I am planning on going to the U.P. this winter for a Snowboarding trip. If others snowboard, I’m down to go anytime, I’ll just have to call Ray and tell him I’m sick. 🙂
Q: What was your first job?
A: I grew up in the country, so my first job was picking squash. I rode my bike 4 miles each way to work past acres and acres of corn fields. I remember it being fun because I worked there with my best childhood friend. I also remember being blown away when after a year I received a 25 cent per hour raise. That bumped me up to $5.50 an hour and was a lot of money to me at 13 years old.
Q: What’s your favorite piece of technology?
A: I do everything with my Xbox. I use it for all of my entertainment, plus it looks and sounds like R2-D2.
Q: Tell me something interesting about yourself?
A: I know famous people? Reed Grimm, who appeared on American Idol was a friend of mine in college, and Andrea Boehlke, who has been on Survivor twice, is from my home town and is good friends with my younger sister.
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: The Environment and Wisconsin sports.
Q: Do you have any special talent?
A: My wife laughs about this because we just had this conversation. After years and years of working with technology, and being a little OCD about organization, I’m very very good at cable management. I can’t stand loose wires, and have become very good at tiding them up quickly. I have zip ties everywhere because you never know when you’ll need to tie up some cords.
I also really enjoy food challenges and have fared pretty well when I have attempted them. I got a shirt for eating a 32oz steak, eaten something called the Knockout Roll (which is basically a wasabi sushi roll with hot chili peppers), and have successfully completed the gallon challenge (drinking a gallon of milk in under 60 minutes). They say the gallon challenge is impossible, but I’m living proof that while it isn’t enjoyable, it is possible. I have several witnesses that can back it up.
Q: Favorite TV Show?
A: I’m a huge fan of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I never can stay up late enough to watch it, so I often watch it on Hulu the next day after I get home from work. I’m also a huge Game of Thrones fan. I’ve seen all the TV episodes and am working on reading the 3rd book. It’s over 1000 pages so it’s taking me a while.
Q: Music genre?
A: These days Reggae Rock is my favorite genre of music, and I’m a big Sublime fan. I grew up liking Punk Rock however and listen to that when I need to get a lot of work done quickly, so if you ever wander past my office in McGraw you might hear some loud punk music in the hallway.
Q: Do you have a famous look-a-like?
A: I have been told that I look like John Krasinski, also known as Jim from The Office. Not sure if I see it.
Q: Do you have a favorite vacation?
A: I love camping, so any time I can get outside and spend some time in nature is an enjoyable vacation, and I go camping several times each summer. Peninsula State Park in Door County is one of my favorite places to go. However, this January my wife and I are going to Jamaica on our delayed honeymoon, so I have no doubt that will be my favorite vacation when I return.
