{"podcast":{"title":"AV/IT Amplifier","slug":"av-it-amplifier-6369183","podcast_index_feed_id":6369183,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/5852785/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/av-it-amplifier--5852785","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/5aef038415b10e89f1ad3f15195eaf45.jpg","author":"Ryan Gray","episode_count":139,"summary":"Higher education institutions rely on audio-visual (AV) and information technology (IT) solutions as a key backbone for modern teaching and learning. The AV/IT industry plays a critical role in providing these solutions, and it is important to highlight the latest trends, innovations, and perspectives in this sector. The podcast “The AV/IT Amplifier” aims to fill this gap by featuring interviews with people from Higher Education Institutions and the AV/IT Industry who have an idea, concept, perspective, event or product that would be helpful or interesting to the target audience of higher education technology managers. The host of the podcast is Ryan Gray, Assistant Director of IT at Yavapai College. “The AV/IT Amplifier” podcast will have a bi-monthly schedule with two recordings per month, each being split in half to provide for weekly episodes. Each episode will be targeted for 30 minutes to be about the length of an average commute. The first half of each recording will focus on the primary topic for that guest, while the second half will be a profile of the person. The podcast will not only focus on technical topics but also on non-technical ones such as effective people mana…","last_synced_at":"2026-06-04T06:21:32.404147+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/av-it-amplifier-6369183"},"episode":{"title":"127: Don't Lose Yourself with Thomas Eastlack","slug":"127-don-t-lose-yourself-with-thomas-eastlack","published_at":"2026-01-07T08:00:09+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/av-it-amplifier-6369183/127-don-t-lose-yourself-with-thomas-eastlack","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/av-it-amplifier-6369183","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/127-don-t-lose-yourself-with-thomas-eastlack--69335070","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/69335070/episode_127.mp3","summary":"After a stretch of inconsistency, Ryan kicks off 2026 with a simple promise: the show is back, and the conversations are the fuel. In this in-person episode, he sits down with Thomas Eastlack , a familiar face at Yavapai College who recently moved from the IT service desk into a newly created role supporting HR technology . Thomas unpacks the shift from reactive “break/fix” work to proactive systems thinking—ticketing workflows, website iteration cycles, chatbot training, and the early push toward cloud-first habits. But the heart of the conversation is service: empathy, trust, and the mindset that keeps support work human even when the calls are repetitive. It’s also a candid look at imposter feelings, decision-making pressure, and what it means to grow into being “the expert” while staying grounded in who you are. Topics Discussed Moving from service desk technician to HR IT lead analyst Reactive support vs proactive process and systems improvement Launching an HR ticketing system for routing, automation, and accountability Website refresh realities: iterations, stakeholders, and “meeting in the middle” Training and maintaining a website chatbot and early AI exposure Shifting departments while staying collaborative with central IT Empathy as a practical support skill (tone, language, and de-escalation) Avoiding burnout and jadedness when the same problems repeat Hiring for attitude and service mindset over day-one operational knowledge Growth, purpose, and why Yavapai College is a place people stay Connect with Thomas Email – Thomas.Eastlack@yc.edu LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-eastlack/ Connect with Ryan @Ryan_A_Gray https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanagray/ ryan@higheredav.com Voiceover by Chris Dechter Have feedback or guest ideas? Let us know! This s…","meta_description":"After a stretch of inconsistency, Ryan kicks off 2026 with a simple promise: the show is back, and the conversations are the fuel. In this in-person episo…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2018,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/av-it-amplifier-6369183/episodes/127-don-t-lose-yourself-with-thomas-eastlack/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/av-it-amplifier-6369183/127-don-t-lose-yourself-with-thomas-eastlack.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}