October 2020
Charles Zelinski
Title/s: Desktop Services Manager
Email: czelins@luc.edu
About
Department/School/Division: Information Technology Services
Campus: Lake Shore Campus (really anywhere now, right?)
Years at Loyola: 19 years
What is your favorite thing about working at Loyola? The best part of working at Loyola is the opportunity to interact with great people every day. The truth is, I benefit from being a part of a great team at Loyola. There are a bunch of people in ITS working together to keep the servers up, the network running, and just making sure the everything works. I may be out front on a project or technical request, but there are lots of people doing the heavy lifting in the background that make it all possible.
What is your most memorable achievement as a Loyola employee? Fairly early on in my career, I was one of just a few people who were chosen to work on a ten day project at the Rome Center. While the work was challenging (who knew Italian keyboards were that different?), it was a great opportunity, and a huge honor to be selected.
What does Loyola's mission mean to you? Loyola’s mission, “preparing people to lead extraordinary lives,” is a huge goal that requires the effort of the entire campus. My little part of that is simple. It is my job to help make sure that the right technology is available and working, so that the rest of the university can contribute their part.
What motivates you to succeed each and every day? While some IT folks may get a bad rap in popular culture, I can say that we work in one of the coolest fields. On a daily basis we get to play with technology, help people solve problems, and occasionally get to look like a hero. How could I not be motivated?
Tell us how you show your Rambler pride. Well, there are the t-shirts, hats, and that sort of stuff, of course. However, my Rambler pride really shines when I have the opportunity to speak with an old classmate or colleague who hasn’t been on campus in a while. There have been so many changes and improvements in the past 15 years, and I usually end up going on a monologue about all the amazing things that are happening at Loyola.
Tell us something most people at Loyola would be surprised to know about you. When I started working for Loyola, my mother and my mother-in-law were also working here, in Information Technology Services… in the same building… on the same floor. I think of those signs that always go up in the kitchenettes: “Clean up after yourselves, your mother doesn’t work here,”. Well, it turns out that even if your mother does work there, you still better clean up after yourself.
