Our people - Damien Ellis
It
seems another world away back in 1989 when I began working in external
studies (now the Flexible Learning Centre) madly rushing about getting the
correct study materials into the correct envelopes with hopefully the
correct addresses to enable the always eager external students to get
started.I started on a three week contract at Underdale campus with the then SA College of Advanced Education and it was a nice change of pace from my other previous work experiences which ranged from the messy role of a production line powder coater just around the corner with Underdale metal processing to a three night soul destroying stint as a chicken catcher!
Powder coating is a bit like spray painting but with a fine dry powder that is electrostatically charged and sticks to everything including you but mostly to the item that needs coating. This item is then baked in a giant oven at something like 180 degrees Celsius to seal the coat. Of course newbies such as me were the ones required to hop into the oven to retrieve fallen items and one particular 30 degree summer day after doing one of these retrievals I decided enough was enough. If you need a description of what is involved being a chicken catcher you will have to give me a call as the experience is too horrific to commit to paper …
My current role with Information Strategy and Technology Services in the e-Business solutions team involves corporate web administration. Now how does a one time chicken catcher/powder coater get to be the UniSA corporate web administrator? Well when you see a role advertised that asks for expressions of interest then consider it your doorway to self improvement and possible advancement. Combined with some study and numerous secondments I have found that my calling is indeed information technology, although the greater part of my time with UniSA has been in student administration. Although my poor supervisors and managers sometimes found my numerous secondments a bit of a challenge to the area’s staffing needs, I always had something new to bring back to my substantive role upon my return which made it worthwhile for everyone.
Damien Ellis is an information technologist at UniSA's with Information Strategy and Technology Services unit.