Author: Melissa Sanchez
Melissa is a student employee with Technology Services and is a senior at Illinois majoring in Communications.
Every wonderful space on campus is the result of hard work and masterful planning. It takes quite a lot of effort to transform spaces into somewhere students and staff can work and enjoy. At Technology Services, one of the people vital to this process is Lori Beeson, Senior Facilities Planner.
For many years Lori has used her skills to make sure the remodeling process goes smoothly from start to finish. When she’s not managing these projects, Lori spends her time enjoying the world with her family.
What is your role with Tech Services and how does that impact the campus?
I create functional, aesthetically pleasing offices for Technology Services staff and computer classrooms and labs that are utilized by students and campus users. I work with Technology Services leadership and Facilities & Services to plan, design and project manage construction and remodels for Technology Services.
I also manage daily building maintenance issues at the Digital Computer Lab and assist with persistent maintenance issues at our 15 other locations. I assist with building emergency planning, space negotiations, campus space audit, lease negotiations; I oversee reserved parking spaces and building access and key management. For many years, I have helped plan other sTech Services staff events and the IT Professionals Forum.
When did you start your role at Technology Services?
I began working for CITES (the previous name for Tech Services) in 2003 as the facilities coordinator. I coordinated a large remodel project in DCL which doubled the space occupied by staff. Previously, CITES only occupied some of the first floor of the DCL. Computer Science vacated much of the second floor when they moved to the new Siebel Center.
I worked with leadership, F&S, architects, engineers and contractors to redesign the first and second floors to meet the space needs of staff and to further our mission and objectives. The additional space allowed us to consolidate our staff in DCL instead of being scattered in multiple other buildings, increasing collaboration and removing redundancy of efforts.
What does a typical day look like for you?
A typical day consists of monitoring DCL building maintenance issues and reporting and escalating necessary things by coordinating with F&S. As staff changes are shared by HR, I update floor plans with staff locations in DCL and provide building access and keys.
On a daily basis, offices are cleaned and prepared, name tags ordered and installed for new staff. No two days are alike, and I have a job that consists of many interruptions. Taking care of building issues often requires me to stop what I am doing and take care of the more immediate building needs.
What do you feel like has been one of your biggest accomplishments in this role?
There are three big accomplishments that I am most proud of. The previously mentioned remodel of DCL 2003-2006 provided more and better space for our staff and visitors.
Second, I get great satisfaction from remodeling the ICS classrooms and labs and the Technology Services Training Services classrooms to support students and instructors.
Third, my favorite project was remodeling the Advanced Computation Building for the Data Center staff on the second floor and for IT Security on the third floor. The entire third floor was transformed into a private command center with space for campus teams to work, meet and collaborate.
I worked closely with F&S to get many building deficiencies addressed and paid for by the maintenance budget. Unfortunately, this space was never utilized by IT Security but is now the home of Public Safety Emergency Management staff. The command center is also a perfect fit for their operations.
What are some of your favorite things to do outside of work?
My favorite things in life are spending time with my family and friends, going to baseball games and rock concerts and watching a good sunset.
I also go to Florida often. I enjoy going to Walt Disney World and Universal and spending time at the beach in Treasure Island.
What are your favorite books, movies and music?
I enjoy the audiobooks of You and Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes. The narrator appropriately represents the creepy main character.
My favorite movies are Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor/Avengers. I like 80’s rock music, Def Leppard is my all-time favorite.