Inside DELTA: 5 Questions with Ethan Walgran

Technology Support Technician Ethan Walgran has been a staple with us for little over a year now. We felt it was time to learn a little bit more about Walgran and to help the uninitiated get initiated!

Walgran grew up in Pennsylvania. He acquired his bachelor’s degree in Business administration at Susquehanna University in 2010. Completing his MBA at the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in 2014. Throughout his studies, he was an IT Help Desk student employee for Bucknell University. Walgran then moved to North Carolina where he began working for the Wake Forest University School of Law in their IT Department as a tier-2 help specialist. Eventually being  promoted to the position of application administrator. After all of his experience, Walgran made his way over to NC State and joined the DELTA team. 

How would you describe your position to someone unfamiliar with DELTA?

Walgran details his position as an initial and direct contact for NC State’s Staff and Faculty when they have issues with instructional technologies.

“The primary purpose of my role is to provide front-facing, immediate support for our faculty, staff, and students in the use of DELTA-supported instructional technologies,” Walgran said.

“Usually, we are that first contact point in DELTA for faculty and staff when they have an issue and are a key part of their overall user experience,’’ says Walgran. He then expounded on his position as a role that provides a more direct and focused support through one-on-one consultations. Saying “In my role, we work to resolve issues as quickly as possible through direct guidance or providing quality knowledge resources.” Walgran further guides users by referring them to other members of DELTA to assist with larger instructional technology needs. 

Along with these day-to-day activities, Walgran works with other departmental members in DELTA on long-term projects. “We bring a faculty and staff perspective when working to identify and implement enhancements of our technology offerings. This ensures that we have impactful digital learning experiences for all in our community” says Walgran.

What is the most challenging aspect of your position?

“Balancing all the varying needs of our faculty and staff along with supporting the larger initiatives of our team and DELTA as a whole can be hard. We see a wide range of requests and are supporting numerous technologies so no one day is the same,” he said.

According to Walgran, “You must be able to think on your toes and adjust quickly to the immediate needs of the faculty and staff, especially during the beginning and end of each semester. Having to prioritize one request or project over another and effectively communicate with the relevant stakeholders can be challenging, but is also why this job is so enjoyable. You rarely are dealing with the same exact people and issues day in and day out.” 

What makes your job special?

Walgran believes that the uniqueness and speciality of the job comes from his dedicated coworkers and leaders in DELTA.

“Working with such talented and supportive people within my immediate Instructional Support and Training department and the entire DELTA organization is what makes this job special for me. This is one of the larger organizations I have worked with, but it never feels that big and it’s been so easy to reach out and collaborate with others. I believe that’s what makes DELTA so strong and why I enjoy working here so much” said Walgran. 

What has been your favorite project you’ve worked on at DELTA?

“There’s actually a project we are currently working on to further evolve and improve our DELTA Knowledge Base. Our team has gone through training on the Knowledge Centered Services (KCS) methodology and are implementing this methodology to improve our self-service offerings,” said Walgran. 

He further explains that using the methodology helps improve the knowledge base by implementing knowledge article creation into their workflow. He utilizes the KCS methodology by working closely with his co-workers in the Instructional Technology Support team. Walgran continues on saying, “It revamps how we approach creating and maintaining support articles within our DELTA knowledge base to further serve our faculty and staff.”

Even though it’s an ongoing project, Walgran and coworkers are already seeing huge enhancements with the acceptance of our Knowledge base. “We are working to create more opportunities for collaboration on these resources outside of just the Instructional Technology Support team,” says Walgran. “This will help us capture more knowledge throughout the DELTA organization and share it with our end users.”  

What do you like to do in your spare time outside of work?

For Walgran, exploring the Triangle to find cool restaurants and breweries is fun for his wife Michele and him.

“I am a big hockey fan and love going to Hurricanes games whenever possible,” he said. In fact, Walgran participates in two recreational hockey teams himself.

His favorite way to spend time is being home with his wife and two pups, Kenna and Lewi. Of course, bingeing a good TV series like The Last of Us and Shrinking with his wife is just how he likes to spend his free time!