A Truly Memorable First Day
Tragedy struck the country on Stan Paskoff’s first day at Duke
Name: Stan PaskoffPosition: Manager of desktop support services, Sanford School of Public PolicyYears at Duke: 33
What I do at Duke: Manage the purchase, installation, configuration and maintenance of all the hardware, software and peripherals at Sanford with the help of two technicians. I talk to everybody and find out what technology they need so I can get them the right thing. My days are always all over the place because if I’m troubleshooting, you never know what’s going to happen. The fun part of my job is big projects. We were one of the first schools to migrate to Office 365, so it was a little hair-raising but fun planning on how to do that.
If I had $5 million, I would: Contribute to nonprofits that mean the most to me. That’d include The Raleigh Little Theatre, NPR, Meals on Wheels and the Judea Reform Congregation. I’d also want to travel with my family and enjoy good food. Making good memories is better than just acquiring things.
My first ever job: I worked at a Co-Op grocery store in South Jamaica, Queens in New York City making $1.85 an hour. I was in charge of ordering, stocking and cleaning the candy aisle and diet food aisle. I was a junior in high school when I started. I enjoyed seeing what people wanted and stocking the shelves. I always made sure I saved enough jelly beans for Easter so all those dads who came in at the last second would have some to bring home.
My dream job: I’d like to be a stand-up comedian. My favorite thing is to hear people laugh.
If someone wanted to start a conversation with me they should ask me about: Community theater. The Raleigh Little Theatre is where I met my wife. I was in the chorus of South Pacific and she was a prop crew chief. She always says she dated me for three months before she saw me without eyeliner. They didn’t teach the guys how to remove it.
The best advice I ever received: In 2008, I told professor Joel Fleishman I had been asked to be president of my synagogue. He said, ‘it’s an honor to be asked and a mitzvah to serve, so you should do it.’ He gave me the courage to say yes, and it was a life-changing thing to do. It taught me how to build consensus and work together to reach goals.
What I love about Duke: Sanford isn’t a workplace - it’s a community. When I received a presidential award this year, the outpouring of appreciation from faculty, staff and students was so heartwarming. It’s a good place to be. We celebrate things together, and I really feel like our IT staff gets more done because we work so closely with faculty and staff.
When I’m not at work, I like to: Cook. It’s nice to have people over for dinner because it’s fun to have a crowd and make everything from hors d’oeuvres to dessert. Good food means good conversation, which means good memories.
An interesting/memorable day at work for me: I started working at Duke the day Reagan was shot. I just remember the head secretary running down the hallway yelling ‘Reagan has been assassinated! I guess she missed his line at the hospital where he said “I forgot to duck”.