Face in the Crowd

We all know him. He keeps in touch on a regular basis. However, many of us have never met him face-to-face.

Benjamin Davis, Eastern’s Network and Systems Assistant Administrator, is as connected to the campus as a person can get. Davis works with both wired and wireless Internet, network problem solving and the expansion of campus server capabilities.

Davis’ Eastern connection does not begin and end with his administrative computing job. He initially came to Eastern as an undergraduate, and he ambitiously majored in history and also minored in political science, astronomy and information technology. Davis aspired to go in to pre-law, and history was the major to take.

“Law is history,” Davis said. “Criminal law was all voted on at some point.”

However, Davis has yet to finish his undergraduate work. Davis took a full-time job with Plants Operations department on campus instead.
It was familiar territory. He had worked as a groundskeeper at his middle school and high school. He also started a landscaping business after his high school graduation.

Sometime later, Davis moved from Plant Ops to a job with Campus Conferences as the Events and Scheduling Coordinator, and two years ago, Davis moved into administrative computing.

Computers and landscaping are not the only things that Davis enjoys. In his spare time, he also fixes cars, plays both soccer and hockey and he also enjoys skydiving.

Whether at work or at play, Davis lives by the value of teamwork. With teamwork, Davis believes that people can become “unabashedly unafraid to learn.” Davis lives out this principle in the way he works with others on campus to help improve Eastern’s network and education.

As for what the future holds, Davis is unsure. He hopes to complete the remaining nine credits for his undergraduate degree. After that, he would like to get his Master’s degree in an area related to process management.

For now, Davis is content. “I have a job, and I like to work.”