Tak Yee Poon’s friendly demeanor and prowess in providing such support as building innovative webpages or webserver maintenance is well known to those who periodically seek his expertise. But for those he works with on a daily basis, it’s his unmistakable passion for helping faculty, staff and particularly students that provides the true meaning of the words “Outstanding Education Support” engraved on the plaque of his 2014 Staff Award.
“I understand what they [students working on campus] are going through in trying to balance work and classes, especially during mid-terms and finals,” said Poon, the university webmaster in California State University, Dominguez Hills’ (CSUDH) Office of Enterprise Applications Management. “So I try my best to increase their work experience, knowledge, and ethics. I see them more as friends than co-workers. ”
Poon’s college and professional careers have taken place exclusively at CSUDH since he arrived in the U.S. in 1993. In fact, as a CSUDH international student from Hong Kong, China, he wasn’t permitted to work off campus.
Like a lot of the student assistants and interns who work with him in the Division of Information Technology (IT), Poon (B.S., computer science, 1998) began working at CSUDH as an assistant in student computer labs until he graduated. In 2000, his reputation on campus and technical abilities helped land him the position of university webmaster.
Poon is currently focused on migrating the entire CSUDH website to a content management system called CM1, and is responsible for working with and assigning work to student assistants and interns, many of whom IT hired specifically to assist with the project.
However, for the students Poon often goes beyond his job description. He “tries his best” to answer any questions they have, including those related to homework and class assignments. He also drafted step-by-step guides to help them improve in web development, and even helps them navigate the job market when they graduate.
As webmaster, Poon is responsible for webserver application installation, configuration, and maintenance campus wide. He also sets up websites with Cold Fusion, JavaScript, and Active Server Pages (ASP) programming languages for CSUDH’s divisions, departments and colleges, as well as handles such projects as creating space online for faculty who need webpages for student projects.
In his staff award nomination letter, IT Project Coordinator Nathlyn Hirohama wrote that Poon is an example of how staff can play a key role in the success of the university.
“He is always available to the faculty to assist them with their needs or problems, even when he is on vacation or during his off-hours,” added Hirohama. “He has been instrumental in helping the library support their applications while they were searching for a new system administrator. Tak has also set up accessibility software to provide data and statistics on all campus websites, which will help ensure that students with disabilities have the same access to information as other students.”
Poon believes that by going the extra mile to help the campus community that he is giving back to those who have helped shape his career. He credits CSUDH computer science Professor Kazimierz Kowalski—his mentor when he was a student— for introducing him to web programming and management. He is also thankful to Professor Wang-Chan Wong in the Information System and Operations Management Department for introducing him to database management.
“I’ve spent more than eight hours here every day since I was a student. This is like my home,” he said. “That’s why it was a great honor to be awarded the Outstanding Education Support Award. I am grateful to Nathlyn Hirohama for nominating me, the faculty and students for submitting support letters, and IT management for supporting me.”
