Tech Zones Are Student Powered

For most teams across UITS, the back-to-school rush kicks into high gear in late summer. For Karina McCune, IT Support Manager for Tech Zones, the work begins months earlier.

By late April, while many students were still wrapping up finals, Karina was already looking ahead to fall. This year’s preparations came with an added twist: 85% of her student workforce graduated in May, a testament to their long-term commitment and growth in the role, but also a challenge in rebuilding the team.

The Tech Zones accept applications for student workers year round, via Handshake (10040626 - Tech Service Specialist). Whenever there’s an opening, she checks for candidates to interview. This can depend on a student’s availability due to their school schedule as much as their experience, but customer service experience is always a plus. Interested students should re-apply each semester.   

“It’s not just student employment,” Karina said. “I call it a student development program. We give them technical skills, but also soft skills—teamwork, emotional intelligence, dealing with ambiguity—that make them more marketable when they graduate.”

Recruiting, Training, and Adapting

This summer, Karina has been onboarding eight new student workers, with more to come, all while anticipating mid-semester departures for internships or research roles. The condensed timeline means students are striving to learn and grow in their roles through a combination of structured training, self-directed problem-solving, and real-world application.

“The beauty of working with student employees is that they’re already in a growth mindset,” Karina said. “They’re ready to dive in, learn quickly and adapt.”

Preparing the Spaces
Readiness for fall isn’t just about people. It’s about the spaces they work in. Karina has been leading operational updates at Tech Zone locations, including redesigning the library service space for greater accessibility after a staff member who uses a wheelchair joined the team. She’s also overseen the reopening of the Student Union Tech Zone following summer renovations, ensuring both technology and layout are ready for early service during orientation and dorm move-in week. 

In addition, the university has reassigned space. The Global Center and South Rec locations need to be closed down and new locations will need to be built up.

Meeting New Demands or Growing the Role
This semester introduces new responsibilities for Karina’s team: assisting in the support of classrooms in addition to providing Tech Zone services. This change comes as OSCR becomes part of a larger department where several teams have merged to form Instructional Technology Services. To meet these new expectations, the team must learn to navigate the Service Operations Workspace (SOW) in ServiceNow, streamline a new workflow for handling incidents, and expand their knowledge to encompass the technology used in classrooms. Their efforts will integrate into a larger instructional technology support group—while continuing to manage the SOW for all Tech Zone interactions. And it all needs to be in place before the first day of classes.

The biggest challenge? Time. “Collaboration takes more time, but it’s more rewarding and effective in the long run,” Karina said. “I trust my team to figure out how things will work best for them in the field. They own it.”

Building for the Future
Karina’s favorite part of the job is building—both the program and her students’ potential. She holds one-on-one meetings with each student to set semester goals, identify growth areas, and document achievements, empowering them to create and document stories they can use in interviews and on résumés.

“At the end of the day, it’s about people,” Karina said. “If my students do well, I know our customers are doing well.”

As the semester approaches, Karina and her newly built team are ready. Not just to support the university’s technology needs, but to create a learning environment where students leave better prepared for life after graduation.