This month, the Office of Information Technology celebrates Ray Pérez, Assistant Director of Network Infrastructure.
Ray works in the DevOps Infrastructure Services department and has been with Fordham for twenty-five years. Throughout his time at Fordham, he has worked on many interesting projects and developed both professionally and personally. To honor Ray’s contributions, we are sharing a little about his story.
How long have you been employed at Fordham, and what roles have you held?
I started at Fordham in January 1999, 11 days before my daughter Sophia was born. I always believed her birth was what brought me to Fordham. I joined Fordham as a Network Engineer, progressed to become a Network Supervisor a few years on, advanced further to take on the role of Network Manager, and now hold the position of Assistant Director of Network Infrastructure.
What’s the day-to-day of your role like?
At Fordham, my team and I are responsible for managing the entire network infrastructure. We oversee the design, implementation, and maintenance of both the wireless and wired networks, as well as our cloud-based solutions in AWS and Azure.
What is your proudest accomplishment in IT and/or life in general?
At Fordham, one of them would be the wireless network. In the context of Fordham’s network infrastructure, we built our wireless infrastructure back in ~2000. Wireless connectivity was merely an enhancement to wired connections. Today, wireless is the preferred and vital link for our everyday tasks.
In life, one of them would be our backyard waterfall. Lucy and I built our backyard waterfall with stone and a lot of sweat. It was great to see it in action once it was completed.
When you are not working, what are some passion projects/hobbies/activities that you’re involved in?
Outside of my professional obligations at Fordham, you can find me immersed in building projects ranging from woodworking to landscaping, gardening, and even large-scale construction ventures. I love the outdoors.
How have you grown professionally while on our team?
A huge part of my professional growth was due to the challenges of new emerging technologies, as well as the demands of a fast and reliable network. We were able to deploy these new technologies at Fordham and come up with designs for a more “slim and mean” network infrastructure. My team is part of the reason for what we have achieved at Fordham thus far.
What is the most unique part about working at Fordham?
At Fordham, I was given the chance to turn my technical skills and professional ambitions into tangible accomplishments. Simultaneously, I became an integral part of a dynamic team composed of dedicated professionals from around the world.
What is something fun or interesting that not many people know about you?
At the age of 16, I was considering becoming a priest, but reality struck when I saw my future wife. At that moment, I knew that priesthood was no longer my devotion.
This interview was conducted as part of the Office of Information Technology’s SpotlITe series, in which we highlight staff members who have meaningfully contributed to IT, Fordham, and beyond.