We recently interviewed Bryan Ashmore, an IT Support Specialist with the JC/AOC’s IT Division.
Condensed and edited for clarity.
Noelle Lagueux-Alvarez: Thank you for chatting with me for the Georgia Courts Journal, Bryan. Would you please share your educational and professional background with our readers?
Bryan Ashmore: My pleasure. I have a Bachelor of Music in jazz studies from the University of South Carolina, and my principal instrument is trumpet. I graduated in 2016, and I’ve been a professional musician since. I’ve done a lot of teaching: private lessons, summer camps, marching band camps, jazz camps—a whole lot in the world of music education. On the performance side, I used to travel with a band called “Surround Sound.” We played all over the East Coast and traveled as far as California and Colorado. Then the pandemic hit, and everything stopped. At the very beginning of 2021, I decided that it was time for a change. Rather than sitting around hoping that the world would go back to normal, I decided to move myself forward and started looking at other career options.
NLA: What drew you to work in IT?
I’m a millennial, on the younger side of the millennial range at that. So, I’ve always been around computers and the Internet. I’ve grown up with technology being so much a part of daily life, and it’s always been interesting to me. I had heard about Google’s IT infrastructure certificate and decided to pursue that training. It turned out to be something that I really enjoyed. I love learning new things. Working here, I learn something new every day.
NLA: How long have you been with the JC/AOC?
Bryan Ashmore: I have been here since June 2021.
NLA: What do you hope to achieve in your position?
Bryan Ashmore: Most of all, I want to help everyone in our agency and all of our judicial branch partners in any way that I can. I aim to contribute toward the goals of the agency by making our IT infrastructure solid and robust, and helping when anyone needs IT assistance.
NLA: Pivoting, what do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Bryan Ashmore: I am still an active musician and music teacher. I still teach private lessons. But, when I’m not doing that, I like to play with my dog.
NLA: What kind of dog do you have?
Bryan Ashmore: She’s a mutt. My wife and I got her from a rescue. We were told that she’s a Labrador/Pointer mix, but we think she’s mostly Lab.
NLA: What’s her name?
Bryan: Her name is Lola.
NLA: Any other hobbies?
Bryan Ashmore: I’ve been reading a lot of biographies lately. I read the Hamilton biography last year. I enjoyed learning about the man at the core of the historical giant.
NLA: Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our readers?
Bryan Ashmore: Just that I’m happy to be here at the JC/AOC, happy to assist with any technological inquiries, and happy to support the larger judicial picture. Everything we do in IT is customer oriented, especially everything on the backend—the things people don’t see. My IT Division colleague, Jessica Jones, comes to mind. You may not ever talk with her, but everything she does is to keep us running. Our whole IT department, top to bottom, is here to optimize technology for the agency and our partners. You may see the infrastructure team most often, but our entire department works hard to keep everyone’s technology secure, up to date, and performing well.
NLA: In other words, IT supports the greater good—all of the missions of the JC/AOC. You are part of the infrastructure needed to allow the entire agency to run.
Bryan Ashmore: Yes, and the less you see us, the better the infrastructure is running.
NLA: Well then, I hope not to see you soon, Bryan, unless it’s to chat about music.
Bryan Ashmore: Agreed.
