Perhaps the best compliment that a person working in information technology can receive is that no one knows that they’re there. So many of us take for granted the ability to make a phone call or log onto the internet because it seems so automatic. The reality is that it takes people like Mr. Roy Horvath to keep the whole system humming along without skipping a beat.
The fast paced and ever evolving world of technology seems far removed from the relatively slow paced farming and ranching environment in Hesperus, Colorado, in which Mr. Horvath grew up. He graduated from Durango High School and worked in farming and ranching, as well as real estate, for a time.
His first real experience with computers came when he was selling insurance. He realized that a computer provided a much faster and more effective way to develop policy proposals. That exposure to technology eventually helped inspire him to return to school to study computers and his career path to come into focus. He worked in information technology for San Juan County and Adams State College before making his way back home to Durango.
He still recalls the first computer he ever bought, a Franklin with two floppy disk drives, no hard drive and an amber screen. It’s a clear reminder of just how fast technology evolves. “The trick with technology,” he says, “is keeping up with the changes.”
“I think adaptability is a very key thing,” Mr. Horvath says. “If you’re not willing to accept change and be able to cope with it, there’s no way you can survive in technology.”
Case-in-point is the six complete updates and rebuilds of the Fort Lewis College campus network of which he’s been a part. Since coming to FLC in 1993, he estimates that he’s been involved with the installation of several million feet of cable and wire on campus, all to make it easier for us to tap into the seemingly unlimited possibilities of technology.
His job in IT is more than enough to keep him busy, but Mr. Horvath has involved himself in many more projects to help make FLC a better place. He is a strong advocate for the College’s new media center in the Student Union and continues to work to help students, as well as faculty and staff, realize and take advantage of the potential that facility can offer. In short, he sees the media center as an epicenter for the creation of original content that can truly change and shape the way the world sees Fort Lewis College.
“With the mass of information out there, it’s challenging to develop distinctive content,” he says. “That’s how people draw interest to themselves. They create attractive and relevant content that others see and come back to on a repetitive basis.”
He’s also actively involved in planning the future of the Old Fort Lewis campus near his childhood home in Hesperus. The more than 6,000 acres that is the birthplace of Fort Lewis College offers a multitude of opportunities for both the College and the community.
“There’s so much potential out there and so much history in terms of how it’s wrapped up with this institution,” he says. “How many other schools around the country would love to have a resource like that?”
Behind the scenes or not, Mr. Horvath is not really concerned with who gets the credit. His concern is keeping Fort Lewis College on the cutting edge and giving those who call this place home the tools they need to succeed.