Art Studio Technician Mark Williams has spent much of his life in Central New York and the surrounding areas. He grew up in Western New York and attended high school in a town called West Valley. The schools that he attended were “mostly schools of hard knocks,” he jokingly said. Williams majored in Advertising Design at Mohawk Valley Community College. He worked in the printing industry for 15 years and left it for a job in a Macintosh-based consulting firm until Colgate came in the picture. Williams was initially hired by the school for a half-year position on a temporary basis and recently signed on to work at Colgate for another two and a half years. A typical day for Williams involves working with technical and related software. On most mornings, he works with classes in the digital studio and video-R room in Little Hall. Williams uses Final Cut Pro, Photoshop and other graphic software in video-R. Williams frequently gets called for troubleshooting computer problems within the Art and Art History Department, fixing computers and setting up exhibits for the gallery on occasions. Williams also trains people for scanning for senior projects. Along with holding the title of “technical guy” in Little Hall, Williams also helps students with woodshop projects in making wood sculptures using 4×4 foot long units of wood. In terms of what he dislikes about his job, Williams said enthusiastically that it “could be better,” but this is as good as it gets. What Williams does not like about his job is being involved in last minute needs, such as making decisions on what’s important when things arise unexpectedly. “The faculty needs help, and so do the students,” he said. “I don’t like getting held in different directions.” Being a technically savvy person, Williams cannot help but to work with computers every day, which is one of his hobbies. Aside from spending much of this time using computers, Williams spends much of his time training for bike racing. He is involved with the Utica Road Runners, one of the most active and social running clubs in the RRCA, and the Mohawk Valley Bicycle Club. He regularly maintains the websites for both clubs, and the woman who coaches Williams for bike racing is a national champion. Cycling is more than just a favorite sport for Williams; it is more than just “a bunch of guys racing to the top.” Cycling can be considered as a passion for Williams, and it is no wonder that he supports Lance Armstrong and his many tours, as indicated by the yellow wristband that he wears. Williams owns a total of six bikes: two mountain bikes, three road bikes and a cross bike. Just last year, Williams started cycle cross biking, a combination between road and mountain biking. He has been all over the central part of the state to race, including Syracuse, Albany and Schenectady.Being “a simple man who lives a simple life,” Williams finds great satisfaction in running, bicycling and “trying to keep my wife happy.” He is happily married to his wife Janice, a compliance manager for the Adirondacks Financial Services. During the week preceding this semester, Williams played a major role in helping The Maroon-News staff to make major technological changes in the newspaper. Having been in the printing industry for over a decade, The Maroon-News is fortunate to have a great faculty member like Williams on their team.