Meet Ryan Gay

Posted on: May 13, 2013 | By: Casey Brown | Filed under: Tech Tips

He writes the step-by-step documentation used by our Help Desk when you call for support. He makes sureJANUARY 25, 2013: Directory portrait, Ryan Gay. (photo by Kim Walker) the terminology on the Technology Wiki is accurate. He writes, he edits and he assists you with your technology needs. This is Ryan Gay.

Ryan Gay in the day-to-day

Gay’s official title is Technology Help Desk Associate and Technical Writer for Campus Technology Support, balancing his time between the two responsibilities. In terms of being a technical writer, he strives to maintain the correct content and formatting in all the online documentation.

“Any given day, depending on the projects I have, I will do the standard managing of the wiki updates,” Gay said. “If anyone has gone through or changed things, I make sure the changes are following the new styles. If we get a specific call for help at the Help Desk, they will let me know and I’ll design the plan to walk the customer through the problem.”

In terms of his Help Desk associate duties, Gay helps with answering phones and troubleshooting problems for Elon faculty, staff and students. He works with his coworkers to solve problems and create guided instruction to answer similar questions in the future.

Where he comes from

Gay has an unusual background for someone in technical support. He attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for his undergraduate degree, double majoring in English and history with a minor theater. After graduation, he returned to UNCG to obtain a M.A in English, concentrating in writing and editing.

After graduating, he worked at the Kernersville News as a lifestyle editor. He then left to work for an IT company in Winston-Salem, where he worked in office management. After finding an advertisement for his current position, he knew it was an opportunity he wanted to take.

“They were looking for a writer and that is something I love doing,” Gay said.

But what is a guy who has roots in history and English doing in the field of technology? Gay explains that while growing up, computers and other technologies were always interests for him.

“I was one of those kids who played with computers,” Gay said.  “It’s never been about programming, but if something’s going on with a computer, I always explored to see what was going on. I would fix the family computer when I was younger. [Later in life], although my job was in office management, the job with the IT company gave me insight to actual computer support.”

Settling in at Elon

As Gay settles into his new position here at Elon, he has found a home among his new coworkers. He praises these new people in his life for helping him adjust so easily.

“The people I get to work with [are my favorite part],” Gay said. “The group I get to work with, they all very much know what they’re doing. I am the new kid on the block and they welcomed me and made me feel part of the group. It’s kind of like a family. I know [when I come into work that] I have a good group to work with.”

If anyone on Elon’s campus has a problem with his or her computer that needs a quick solution, Gay encourages him or her to reach out to him. He wants the community to know that he will get the right solutions and documentations.

“If you’re poking around and you have a technology question and can’t find it on the wiki or if you have a request for information, I will get that documentation together so you can get what ever you need done,” Gay said.

 

If you’re interested in receiving any help from Ryan Gay today or in the future, you can find his contact information here.

Casey Brown

Casey Brown is the Writing Intern for Technology with Elon University's Teaching and Learning Technologies Department.

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