A Day in the Life of Annie Foster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh7pcZWzhMA
1. Thank you for joining me for this month’s edition of the “Tech Manager Spotlight.” Start by telling us a little about what you do and a little about your background.
I design, program, install, and support our classrooms and a couple of event spaces. This takes up much of my time, but I also manage the digital signage platform and share help desk coverage with the Client Services team. I started in tech theatre, moved to film and media art, and then realized everything I had been doing all along was A/V. I worked a bit in rental and staging in Santa Fe, NM before coming back east to SE PA.
2. Have you always worked in AV? What did the path look like for you to get where you are now?
I started in theater in middle school, James, and the Giant Peach. I was captivated with the lighting control which had huge levers and took up a whole wall (at least in my memory)! Theatre was my first major, but I ended up switching to film and media arts after a year and a half break, living on my own and trying out a lot of jobs like taxi driving, barista, landscaping, office work, catering, etc. After college, I was kind of bumping around short-term jobs when someone told me I needed to find my niche and that set me on a directed path. I was a video producer for a nonprofit and then an in-house AV tech at an art museum/education institution. I could not believe I could have so much fun at work!
3. What is your morning routine?
Coffee!
Kids, then me.
Then I speed walk to work because I am always running late and live across the street from the college. This is because we have a goodbye ritual that consists of hanging like a monkey, a couple of taps on the head, kisses, hugs, and making absurd-sounding phrases with my 5-year-old the 1-year-old is starting to chime in also.
4. What does an average week-day look like for you?
Average doesn’t exist and I love it! I spend most of my time planning the next renovations, fulfilling office AV requests, tickets, events, and training students. I also share help desk shifts with the rest of the Client Services team.
5. What does your busiest day look like? What are the challenges your role faces, and how do you overcome those?
The busiest days are the week before the semester begins! Final updates on classrooms, cleaning up from the renovations, training students and we always have a professional development day around then too! My biggest challenge is being included in conversations about classrooms, who teaches where – and during COVID – what was even scheduled as a classroom. We made many event spaces into classrooms and even an old gym was made into a computer lab. I have tried polling to be less anecdotal and hope to fully utilize Fusion to help with usage statistics -I am not there yet – but I am getting there!
6. What energizes you and inspires you?
I love problems that need to be solved and making solutions. I really enjoy user interface design and like to translate complex processes into simple steps. I am a sucker for a good story. My position allows me to help teachers be better storytellers. I especially love it when someone comes to me with their end goal and we can work together to use the right tools to get them there in a way that enhances their story.
7. If another tech manager were to follow you around all day, what would they most be surprised by? What would they learn?
How many closets I have on campus! I don’t have any large storage spaces, just little pockets scattered throughout.
They would learn that we are fiscal stewards and try to really maximize the value of a dollar, we don’t cut corners, but we do conserve.
8. Tell us about the project you are currently working on now?
I am working on my first NVX install in a 300-seat auditorium that functions as a classroom and event space. I recently replaced the soundboard from analog to digital so renovating the video distribution will help us host video conferencing with less setup time.
9. Comparing your career path over time, what are some of the moments, accomplishments, or projects that you’re most proud of?
While working at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, I was the Lead Tech on a lecture by David Byrne. We rented a 25’ screen for his presentation and mounted the projector on a scissor lift. I love the Talking Heads and he was great to work with.
More recently, a video wall in a residence hall was planned. I programmed it and made the touch panel project myself. It was the first project that felt like my own and not a modification of what was already in place. I still feel proud when I use that system. If I opened the code, I may feel otherwise but luckily, I have no need to do that!
10. What do you enjoy doing on weekends? How do you spend your time outside of work?
We like yard sale-ing and doing anything outside, hiking, campfires, gardening. Kids take up so much time, I always wonder where the day has gone. I hope to read a book in the next few years 🙂
11. You’ve recently been voted to the executive board of HETMA, what led you to get involved? What do you hope to see out of the future of the organization?
Yes! I am excited about being a part of HETMA and can’t wait to find more ways to support it! What attracted me to HETMA is that there are no barriers to entry. I started listening to the Higher Ed AV podcast and found that reassuring that many people in our industry grapple with the same problems. I love that there are no membership dues so I could get involved quickly. I was brought in by the focus of community but now see all the ways this organization could help our campus! Being a ‘department of one’ it’s helpful to have a place where you know people will understand the same hurdles and successes.
I hope that a strong and inclusive community continues to grow and for the organization to be able to use industry alliances to bring more understanding and recognition to our profession. I’m also interested in having the HETMA Approved resource to streamline the research phase of new peripherals!
12. So, you’re a one-woman band at your institution. What are the challenges of that, as well as the successes? We all want to know how you pull that off.
My director, Brian Helm, Senior Director of ITS, gives me plenty of room for plan a, plan b, or even plan c if anything doesn’t come together and is willing to lend a hand if I need it. Having that support makes it easier to shoot high. When I started in this position, I hadn’t done any A/V programming, so I went to training and we brought all our renovations in-house. It can be challenging; I must prioritize and know that some things will always be on the to-do list. This was hard for me to get used to. Honestly, the most frequent hurdle is finding someone last minute to test Zoom or help move a TV. My department, Client Services, is a small team, and we are all busy. It just helps me plan and stay organized and if that’s not an option then I have to be flexible. Occasionally I can borrow from our Technical Operations department to help. Melissa Hagman is in the picture helping me fashion a hat to keep plaster out of my hair during an unexpected in-ceiling expedition.
I have had great luck with finding engaged students to work for me, pre-med majors make excellent signal flow troubleshooters! While renovations have happened every year, I feel like every year I am able to make them a little more complete, adding schematics, better end-user documentation, better project management, better problem tracking; just a little bit better each year and that’s enough for right now.
13. What is your life motto and how do you apply it to your daily routine?
Regret nothing. I try to accept and learn from my mistakes but not to regret them. My path is mine and every step I have taken has gotten me here. I am, of course, my own worst critic, but I file those critiques and I don’t make the same mistakes again.
14. What is something you are currently doing or going to do this summer for your own personal well-being?
We go camping for a week every year with my extended family. It is so refreshing to breathe fresh air. I try to not plan a deadline close to that time so I can relax and unplug. If you haven’t been to the Poconos to stargaze, I highly recommend it!
This Month’s Manager: Annie Foster
Annie has been working in Higher Ed A/V for 7 years. A/V has been a common theme since high school while exploring many distinct aspects of technology including theatre, live music, video, and media arts. She currently is the Classroom A/V and Computer Technician at Elizabethtown College where she designs, programs, installs, and maintains the classroom spaces on campus.