August 3, 2017
Meet the Staff: Curt Marker
What's your background? I have a BA in Political Science from Ohio University and a number of IT related certifications.
What's something about you that other people find interesting or surprising? I’m passionate about automation of processes and streamlining time to delivery. My favorite types of projects tend to be ones where I can sit quietly and write a script or process to accomplish the goal automatically in the future.
What's something praiseworthy that a client has said about you? “Oh, cool, I didn’t even realize it had broken. Thanks for fixing it, I guess?”
What keeps Curt Marker, ASCTech Server Administrator/Endpoint Engineer, so involved in his job? "Information technology is all about exposure to new ideas and new technology; there's always something new to learn. I love that aspect!" says Marker.
And with a job that includes setting up and maintaining Microsoft File, Print, DHCP, Active Directory, and DNS servers, there's always something new to learn. As part of the College of Arts and Science's Infrastructure and Operations service area, Marker works on a variety of projects including being "frequently asked to integrate or implement additional services in our team, build new tools, or automate a process."
His interest in technology is partly a result of his upbringing: "I’ve always had a computer in my house, and my father was a senior manager in VetMed’s IT shop here at OSU before his retirement."
This isn't to suggest that Marker wants to be surrounded by tech constantly. He says, "I honestly try not to get too involved with technology outside of my work. I tend to favor the simplest solution to a tech problem at home so I can get on with enjoying the outdoors or sitting around a table with my friends." He's also an avid reader of SciFi and fantasy novels and has "written a number of unpublished novels. Writing is a great outlet and I think more people should check it out. NaNoWriMo.org seems hard but is super rewarding when you hit that 50k mark."
Following a solitary pursuit like writing fits well with Marker's reserved nature. Marker defines job success as being almost invisible: "A successful day for me is when I can spend an entire day working, without anyone noticing that I was probably touching over a hundred servers and thousands of accounts. I try to make my work/solutions so they stay out of the way of people using technology in the college."
If you need someone to help with your technology, request help from ASCTech and maybe you'll work with Curt Marker.
