Priscilla Milam, associate vice chancellor of IT operations for the North Harris Montgomery Community College District in The Woodlands, Texas, parlayed a part-time job in her college's computer center into a career. Milam heads up VoIP, wireless and IT service management initiatives across the district's five colleges and seven educational facilities with 45,000 users. Recently Milam spoke with Network World Senior Editor Denise Dubie about how she maintained momentum throughout her varied career.

How did you land in your current position?

I had been at [the district's] Kingwood College and had been accepting high-profile projects and lead positions for the district in its entirety. For instance, I brought the whole concept of the [Information Technology Infrastructure Library] to the district's attention as a way to improve services. Also I did research on voice over IP for our phone system. It meant extra work on top of what I was already doing, but that helped me get more visibility in the district and get to know people.

Describe your current network, staff and responsibilities.

We have a WAN fiber ring that connects all five campuses and some of the centers. The application developers [and] network support and operations teams report to me. In all, about 60 people report to me. And I report to the CIO.

How did you get interested in networking and IT in general?

When I went to Texas A&M, I was undecided as to my long-term career goals. And I happened to get a job at the computer center as a student worker. Then it became clear. I really just liked the environment and was interested in the new technology. It felt like it was the place for me. That's when I changed my course of study to computer science.