Spotlight on… James King, Assistant Director of AV Services, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Connect with James King:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AV_JamesKing
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-king-nj/
About Me: I have been working in higher education since 2008 with a focus on AV around 2015. I am a writer of the column IT in AV which publish monthly to the Higher Ed AV Media, co-host of Ask The Programmer podcast, a crew on The AV Life podcast, and board member for HETMA.
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.
Thank you for having me today. I am currently the Assistant Director of AV Services for the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. This is a new role for me which I started in April of 2022. Before working for the School of Medicine at UNLV I started my career at Stockton University which is located in southern New Jersey where I also received my BS in Information Systems with a minor in Business Studies. I was always on the computer but never really dove in until high school. I was part of the school’s first year of offering an A+ class. During that class, I was having a discussion with a classmate which I carry with me today. I told him I was concern to get in there and mess something up. His reply was ‘get in there and play around. If you mess something up you know not to do that again and you learn how to fix it.’ Since then I always get in there and if I mess something up, I learn to fix it
Have you always worked in AV? What did the path look like for you to get to where you are now?
I went to school for IT and wanted to be a network administrator. Once I graduated from college I worked outside of higher education for 3 months as a web developer. I then got hired at my alma mater for the telecommunication team. My role on the telecommunication team was mainly focused on the CCTV system at the university until one day, out of the blue, I was informed that I was no longer on the telecommunication team but on the AV team. Even with this path to AV I never felt like I left IT. I even say that AV is IT and even though my focus was on the AV side until about 2015 I have come to love the AV side of IT.
What is your morning routine?
My morning routine is nothing special. I wake up around 5:00am and get ready for the day. This include checking emails, team chat, and my calendar to see what my day might be like. I also prepare my lunch and make a pot of coffee, feed the pets (two cats and my fish), and wash up any dishes that might be in the sink. I am normally out the door between 6:30am and 7:00am so I can be at work between 7:00am and 7:30am. Once I get to the office I handle any pressing items and then dive into the day’s work.
What does an average weekday look like for you?
Each day is busy in their own way and bring their own challenges. A busy day for me and my team would be when the building is busy with classes or events but we also have to set up for an exam. To overcome these challenges requires a strong team. Knowing that if I get pulled into a meeting or tied up on something the rest of my team can handle everything else that is going on.
What does your busiest day look like? What are the challenges your role faces, and how do you overcome those?
I don’t believe there is any average weekday when working in higher education and that is what I enjoy about this vertical. Once I get to the office it processing the student worker hours and taking a close look at the schedule and I also dive into our tickets system to see where we stand on issues. Throughout the day I will be jumping from meetings to meetings, either virtual or in person, handling tickets, supporting class/events, working on documentations, and checking in with my team. Once the day is over I head home and if it a soccer night, I get my daughter and heads to the field. If it not a soccer night I enjoy dinner with the family and take care of items around the house.
What do you enjoy doing on weekends? How do you spend your time outside of work?
So weekends all depends what is going on. My one daughter plays soccer and she could either have a game or even a tournament. If it a tournament then it could be the whole weekend at the soccer fields. If there is no soccer during the weekend we do try to get out to the park or the pool if the weather allows. Also trying to get into hiking now that we are out in Nevada. There are some weekends where we just stay home and handle projects around the house.
What energizes you and inspires you?
I am inspire by the students. Working in higher education we are always around students. We have student workers and our classrooms and halls are filled with students. Watching these students grow into outstanding community members is what inspires me. I may not be teaching them but the work my team and I are doing allows these students to take full advantage of their time in school.
If another tech manager were to follow you around all day, what would they most be surprised by? What would they learn?
They will be surprised by that I do not sit still. I am always on the go. I might be heading to a meeting, checking on a class, looking at an issue, or just walking the building. There are even times I walk into the office, pull my chair out, sit down, and then get right back up and head back out as a message comes in or I remember something that needs to be handled. I would hope they would learn that I pay very close attention to details. I am always looking at the images on the displays to make sure they are clear, right resolution, etc.. I am checking sound to make sure everything sounds right and at the correct level. If the room is empty and the system is on I am powering everything down. I am cleaning up and trash that might be left on the lectern or desks. Another thing I think they will learn is that I am very friendly. I am always stopping and talking to students or staff in the halls. I am asking how things are going and seeing what we can do better.
Tell us about the project(s) you are currently working on now?
The project I am working on now is building the AV Services team while also trying to open our new building. The AV Services team is new, which started with my position, and then my two full time team members joined me in July. I was also assigned the current student workers and I added more to the staff. While I build the team we are also opening our medical education building which is a 5-story building.
Comparing your career path over time, what are some of the moments, accomplishments, or projects that you’re most proud of?
My career has really taken off in 2019 when I decided to get active on Twitter with #AVintheAM. You might be asking how this help my career and I will tell you. I was feeling like I was in a rut at work and on an island. I started to interact with the other folks on #AVintheAM and then one day out of the blue Joe sent me a message asking me to be on his podcast. This notion and the welcoming of the AV community made me understand that I had value and was not on an island of my own. This was even reenforce when I started the Higher ED AV/IT slack group which is not over 200 globe members, being ask to write the IT in AV column, be a crew member of The AV Life, voted in as a board member for HETMA and start a podcast with Steve Greenblatt call Ask The Programmer. Stepping out of my comfort zone and making connections even help me realize that I could archive a career goal, of getting into management, and gave me the confidence to apply for those types of roles. This lead me to getting offer my current role which meant moving my family 2,600 miles across country. So the moment I took those steps and put my voice out there is one of the most proud moments I have. Yes I have been part of some great projects but really it stepping outside my comfort zone that I am most proud of.
You’re involved with our higher ed AV-industry orgs. Talk about why you get involved in the way you do and how that is impacting both you and our vertical?
Why I get involved? I basically answered that in the last question. Getting out there and getting involved is what helped my career and helped me be where I am now. Beside helping my career another reason why I get involved is I want to help someone who might be holding back, someone who has great value to add to our vertical but is not comfortable to step outside of their comfort zone. I am a believer if you want someone to do something you need to set the example. I know everyone’s voice has value and we need to get those voices out there but I can’t expect them to do it if I don’t do it myself. I hope that with me getting involved and putting myself out there it will help others do the same.
Where do you see your career trajectory going in the next five years? Where do you envision yourself?
If COVID thought us anything is that we can’t plan that far ahead. I do see myself in the next five year, hoping less, is to have my MBA as well as my CTS cert. I also want to have a team that people know of. For example if you think of Joe and USC you also know he has a great team behind him. I want that and more for my team. I want folks to hear about the great work that my team is doing. Where I envision myself is a hard one for me to answer. I never envision myself where I am now but I also know I am not done.
What is your life motto and how do you apply it to your daily routine?
My life motto is ‘always be learning’. How I apply this to my daly routine is a couple of ways. First is on January 1st 2022 I set a goal to read 10 pages a night. Since then I have finished 13 books. Most of the books focus on leadership/management and each book I have read I have learned something from and even applied some of them to my life. Beside reading I am also working on finishing up my MBA. Granted I would had completed the program if I did not change jobs but I made sure finishing my MBA was a high priority of mine. As long as things go according to plan I should be finishing my MBA either this fall or maybe spring. Another thing I do is I listen to podcasts. I don’t only listen to podcasts on AV and higher education but I also listen to leadership and even one on coaching soccer. Lastly, when time allows, I am always trying to join webinars, attend conferences, or take training to help advance my knowledge in any subject I can. I am always trying to learn new things.