Ingrid Ioan is so at ease with technology that she can connect to her dad's PC in Bucharest and troubleshoot his computer problems from her laptop in Eugene. "I am a person who loves to make use of technology," she enthuses. It's a good thing, too, because Romanian families are close-knit and expect almost daily contact with their relatives abroad. Being able to use webcams and microphones for live video conversations helps Ioan stay connected with family and friends back home. "It's a unique experience to see and talk live to a person who is thousands of miles away," she says. "When I talk to my parents and friends from Romania, we exchange digital pictures and end up talking for hours."

Technology is also an important part of Ioan's academic life at the UO, and she relies on Internet resources to download class materials and do research. She singles out E-Reserves
(http://libweb.uoregon.edu/reserves/usingeres.html), which provides online access to select course materials, as one of the most valuable electronic tools at her disposal. On occasion, she has also used videoconferencing to attend a meeting or class.

Ioan's passion for computers sets her apart from most other students. Before coming to Eugene, she was a computer instructor, a certified computer programmer, and volunteer tech consultant for friends and family in Romania. In addition to her studies at the UO, Ioan currently works as an information assistant for Mobility International USA (MIUSA, http://www.miusa.org/), the organization that helped bring her here on scholarship. Drawing on her diverse technical background, Ioan puts her digital graphic skills to work updating MIUSA's website and doing the layout for its magazine, Global Impact. After graduation this spring, she may join MIUSA's staff full-time.

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