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Amy McCoy
CC-EMU Lab Manager [back to top]
Before entering the computing field, Ashland native Amy McCoy avidly pursued
a lifelong interest in the Middle East. In 1986, she graduated from UC Berkeley
with a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and, until the Iran-Iraq war put a damper
on her plans to accept a Fulbright to study in Kuwait, Amy fully intended to
complete a Masters in Islamic studies.
Her plans interrupted, Amy went job hunting and landed a job that required
her to provide computer training for businesses in the San Francisco Bay area.
While her background had only peripherally involved computing, Amy embraced
the challenge. "I told myself that if I can figure out Arabic, I can certainly
figure out computers," she laughs. And so, without her quite realizing
it, her career as a computer consultant and lab manager began.
In 1995 Amy returned to Oregon and earned a Masters in Management from Southern
Oregon University. For five years, she ran two computer labs and coordinated
technical training on the SOU campus. It was there she met her husband Jan,
whom she married last January.
Jan, a former social studies teacher and state board of education bureaucrat
who coincidentally also specialized in Middle Eastern Studies, is currently
fulfilling a lifelong dream of getting a Ph.D. in Education and began classes
at the UO last fall. The newlyweds relocated to Eugene, and now Amy, Jan, and
their yellow labrador retrievers Daisy and Duke share a home in the River Road
area.
Fly fishing is among Amy's favorite pastimes, and last June she and Jan traveled north to Calgary to cast their lines during a special week-long vacation. The demands of work and study will probably cut down on their travel time in the near future, but some day Amy dreams of returning to Egypt and sharing its cultural riches with her husband.
Stephen Fromm
Operations and Systems Engineer, NERO [back
to top]
Stephen Fromm can't resist a challenge. His intellectual curiosity and desire
to thoroughly explore any subject that piques his interest led him to study
Chinese as well as the world's religions, and he graduated from the UO with
a double major in Chinese and Religious Studies in 1997.
Immediately following graduation, Stephen returned home to Northern California
to contemplate his options. For a brief time he flirted with the idea of earning
a master's degree in history, but ultimately he opted for what promised to be
a more practical career in computer programming. A year later, he re-enrolled
at the UO and graduated last June with a B.S. in Computer Science.
Stephen's new career path was fortuitous. Programming satisfied his problem-solving
bent and provided both continuous challenges and steady employment. While still
a student, Stephen worked for several years as a Microcomputer Services consultant
in the Computing Center. During that period, he became interested in system
administration and network security and also expanded his knowledge of Linux.
When a student position opened in Network Services' security division, Stephen
took the opportunity to pursue his growing interest in network-related disciplines,
and after graduation he signed on with NERO (the Network for Education and Research
in Oregon).
Stephen's current challenge is rewriting the portion of the NERO codebase that
gathers and illustrates network data. When this project is completed, Stephen
anticipates that it will be easier to use and configure the program and that
the codebase will be easier to maintain.
When it's time for break, Stephen often heads for the driving range to practice
his golf swing or plays a tune on his harmonica. A blues fan who's characteristically
delved deeply into the genre's history, Stephen frequently listens to Son House
and Muddy Waters for inspiration.
Ron Holland
Systems Analyst, Administrative Services [back
to top]
Ron and his wife Deb both hail from Michigan. They met while majoring in computer
science at Western Michigan University and initially became acquainted with
Eugene when Deb enrolled in graduate school at the UO in 1989. While his wife
worked to earn her Ph.D. in protein crystallography, Ron took a job as an administrative
programmer on campus, working for a year at the Computing Center before joining
the Financial Aid office.
Eugene's mild climate, myriad bike paths, and easy pace of living appealed
greatly to Ron, who is a cycling enthusiast and serious track and cross-country
runner. But when Deb was offered a post-doctoral position with Parke-Davis Pharmaceuticals
(now Pfizer) in Ann Arbor, the couple returned to their home state in 1994.
Ron found work as a contract programmer, providing support and development
for BANNER financial aid modules to such clients as the University of Vermont
and Roosevelt College in Chicago, and later developed web-based applications
for Parke-Davis. Subsequently, he joined Parke-Davis full-time to manage a small
group of systems programmers supporting computational chemistry.
By this time the Holland family had grown to include baby Jordyn and two toddlers,
Damon and David. The pressures of big-city life compounded the couple's
already hectic schedule of child care and professional duties, and Ron and Deb
began to dream of moving back to Eugene and enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle.
Last June, that dream became reality when Ron accepted a programmer position
with the Computing Center's Administrative Services group.
The Hollands have wasted no time putting down roots. They've already purchased a home here, and Damon is starting kindergarten this fall. Ron bikes to and from work and has resumed his routine of running five days a week on Pre's Trail. This summer, he and the boys have taken to the water in an inflatable kayak whenever they've had the chance.