Hey everyone, my name is John and I’ve been working for the university since 1993. Almost half of the past twenty years have been with NC State Bookstores. I started working for the bookstore in 2002 as the distance education manager. My job duties included managing the DELTA video distribution program and processing online textbook orders. The bookstore had just launched online ordering a few semesters before I started. It was nothing like what students see now-a-days. We received 800 orders my first semester and they grew to over 2,000 orders the next semester. It was a huge undertaking to get all those orders pulled, verified, processed and distributed. About a year after I started, I was given the opportunity to redesign the bookstore’s website and because of my background in art and design, I took over all of the brochure design and advertising.
In 2005, I was offered a huge opportunity for advancement as the marketing director for the McKimmon Center for Continuing Education – a job that would only last for two years. I enjoyed the job a great deal. The folks were excellent to work with and the work was fun. However, the bookstore remained near and dear to my heart. When the opportunity was presented to return as the marketing manager, I jumped on it.
The past five years have been an incredible journey. The bookstore (as well as the whole University) has changed so much in such a short period of time. That is what I plan to talk about in my new blog.