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by Ryan Gray
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- 1 weeks ago34 min
136: You Never Go Full Bald with Chris Kelly
Chris Kelly returns to The AV/IT Amplifier Podcast for week two with Ryan Gray, and the conversation picks up right where the first one left off: part Higher Ed AV Media strategy, part neurodivergent team therapy session, part comedy riff about baldness, gifts, and why some people should absolutely not be forced to sing an improvised jingle on command. Chris, Senior IT Support Specialist at Creighton University, HETMA Advisory Board Chair, and Managing Editor for Higher Ed AV Media, talks about his role supporting volunteer contributors, helping build consistency, and creating a structure that encourages people rather than making creative work feel like punishment. Ryan and Chris also get into the very real tension between spontaneity and planning, and why authentic collaboration often works best when people are not wired the same way.The conversation moves from HETMA and Higher Ed AV Media into broader reflections on workplace communication, neurodivergence, podcasting, and the vulnerability behind even simple questions like asking someone how they are doing. Along the way, Chris explains his state high point hiking project, Ryan tries to force a Higher Ed AV Media jingle into existence, and the two land on one of the great philosophical questions of our time: what separates someone who is authentically bald from someone who is merely playing bald? By the end, Chris revisits his previous sign off and updates it into something that fits both his own work and the larger HETMA community: “Stay curious and get connected.”Topics DiscussedChris Kelly’s role as Managing Editor for Higher Ed AV MediaSupporting volunteer contributors without making deadlines feel punitiveNeurodivergence, procrastination, planning, and creative workHow Ryan and Chris’s different working styles complement each otherBuilding teams around difference rather than samenessCamera gestures, Zoom delay, and the lived reality of using classroom technologyThe possibility of a Higher Ed AV Media jingleChris’s state high point bucket list and upcoming Arizona visitGift giving, social expectations, and practical decision makingBaldness, authenticity, and Chris’s updated catchphrase: “Stay curious and get connected”Connect with Chris Kellycontent@higheredav.comcontent@hetma.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-kelly-272155122/Connect with Ryan@Ryan_A_Grayhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanagray/ryan@higheredav.comShow LinksHigher Ed AV Media: https://www.higheredav.comHETMA: https://www.hetma.orgHETMA Community: https://community.hetma.orgHETMA Roadshow at Creighton: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/omaha-roadshow-at-creighton-university-tickets-1602948595399?aff=ebdssbdestsearchVoiceover by Chris DechterHave feedback or guest ideas? Let us know!This show is a production of Higher Ed AV Media. Visit www.HigherEdAV.com for fresh content every day!
- 2 weeks ago34 min
135: The Managing Editor with Chris Kelly
Chris Kelly returns to The AV/IT Amplifier Podcast for a conversation about media, volunteerism, accessibility, and what it means to help amplify voices across the higher education AV community. Chris, Senior IT Support Specialist at Creighton University, HETMA Advisory Board Chair, and newly announced Managing Editor for Higher Ed AV Media, talks with host Ryan Gray about how his deep engagement with higher ed AV content eventually turned into a larger role helping shape, edit, and support the platform itself.This episode is also a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to keep a volunteer-driven media ecosystem alive. Ryan and Chris talk about the difference between polished corporate media and authentic peer-to-peer storytelling, the importance of making content creation less intimidating, and the many ways people can contribute without needing to be a professional writer, podcaster, or media personality. From accessibility and DEI to event recaps, campus profiles, content intake forms, and the search for a clear Higher Ed AV Media tagline, the conversation is ultimately an invitation for more people to step in, share what they know, and help tell the stories of the community.Topics Discussed• Chris Kelly returning as a standalone guest on The AV/IT Amplifier Podcast• Chris’s role as Managing Editor for Higher Ed AV Media• His claim to having consumed nearly the full Higher Ed AV Media podcast catalog• The value of being a voracious listener and reader before helping shape content• Why accessibility helped pull Chris deeper into the media side of the work• How volunteer organizations create opportunities for people who step forward• Ways people can contribute without needing to be the face of a podcast or article• The difference between authentic peer content and polished corporate media• Why Higher Ed AV Media needs a clear slogan or tagline• Chris’s Empowered by Design column and the challenge of writing regularlyConnect with Chriscontent@hetma.orgcontent@higheredav.comCreighton UniversityHETMA Advisory Board ChairManaging Editor, Higher Ed AV MediaConnect with Ryan@Ryan_A_Grayhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanagray/ryan@higheredav.comShow LinksHigher Ed AV Media: https://www.higheredav.comHETMA: https://www.hetma.orgHETMA Community: https://community.hetma.orgVoiceover by Chris DechterHave feedback or guest ideas? Let us know!This show is a production of Higher Ed AV Media. Visit www.HigherEdAV.com for fresh content every day!
- Apr 1, 202631 min
134: They Don't Sit in the Classroom Like I Do with Mike McHugh
Mike McHugh is back for Part 2, and this half of the conversation opens up into something bigger than a technical discussion. Ryan and Mike talk about what it really takes to stay current in a field that never stops moving, from relying on trusted partners and professional communities to making room, when possible, for demos, articles, and the constant work of learning. They also dig into AV over IP, not as a buzzword or blanket answer, but as one tool among many that has to be weighed against cost, scale, reliability, and the real needs of a particular space.From there, the episode shifts into another side of Mike’s work that says a lot about who he is. In addition to his role in ITS media at Goshen University, he has spent years teaching first year students in courses centered on identity, community, career, and calling. That teaching experience has given him a different kind of credibility when talking with faculty and administrators about learning spaces, and it also reveals the throughline in Mike’s approach to the job: thoughtful service, lived experience, and a willingness to keep growing. The conversation closes with a glimpse into an upcoming May term in Maui, where Mike will lead students in a recovery focused learning experience connected to rebuilding efforts in Lahaina.Topics DiscussedHow Mike stays current as technology, standards, and expectations keep changingThe value of trusted integrators, dealers, webinars, forums, and professional organizationsWhy carved out time for professional learning is hard to protectHow Goshen University is thinking about AV over IP on a room by room basisWhy “future proofing” often turns out to be more like “future delaying”The difference between how spaces are imagined in design meetings and how they are actually usedWhy relationships and institutional trust matter so much in design and renovation workMike’s role teaching first year students in Goshen’s required core curriculumHow teaching has strengthened his credibility with faculty and administratorsMike’s upcoming May term in Maui tied to disaster recovery work in LahainaConnect with MikeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikecsm/Connect with Ryan@Ryan_A_Grayhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanagray/ryan@higheredav.comVoiceover by Chris DechterHave feedback or guest ideas? Let us know!This show is a production of Higher Ed AV Media. Visit www.HigherEdAV.com for fresh content every day!
- Mar 25, 202630 min
133: It Might Just Be Future Mike with Mike McHugh
In Episode 133 of AV/IT Amplifier, Ryan Gray talks with Mike McHugh of Goshen College about what it means to build a career, and a legacy, at a small institution where everybody knows everybody and the work is always personal. Mike shares what it has been like to spend more than two decades at a 900 student college in northern Indiana, doing everything from classroom technology support and system design to campus events, athletic streaming, video, and recording. The conversation gets at something a lot of higher ed AV people will recognize right away: when the school is small, the team is small, and the mission is clear, the job becomes a constant balancing act between capacity, creativity, relationships, and service.What makes this episode especially strong is how naturally it moves between practical AV work and the deeper human side of the profession. Mike talks about revisiting systems he built decades earlier, realizing that the “future somebody” who has to deal with those decisions might just be him. He reflects on community, consistency, and stepping into new ways of contributing, from running for leadership in ETC to helping bring stability and follow through to The AV Life. This is a conversation about institutional memory, saying yes when students are at the center of the ask, and what it looks like to keep showing up for the long haul.Topics DiscussedWorking in higher ed AV at a small private collegeWearing multiple hats across classrooms, events, athletics, and mediaHow small campus culture changes the way AV work gets doneThe upside and pressure of being known across an institutionRevisiting and replacing systems you built years earlierThe difference between building for “future somebody” and building for “future Mike”Finding professional community through ETC, HETMA, and Higher Ed AV MediaMoving from membership to leadership in professional organizationsWhat consistency and follow through mean in media and podcast productionHow behind the scenes contributions create visible resultsConnect with MikeLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mikecsm/Connect with Ryan@Ryan_A_Grayhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanagray/ryan@higheredav.comVoiceover by Chris DechterHave feedback or guest ideas? Let us know!This show is a production of Higher Ed AV Media. Visit www.HigherEdAV.com for fresh content every day!
- Feb 25, 202658 min
Special: HETMA Presents... Live Keynote from the HETMA Virtual Conference
Recorded live as the Friday keynote on Day 3 of the HETMA Virtual Conference, this AV/IT Amplifier crosspost pulls a fast moving hybrid conversation from sister show HETMA Presents, combining #Roadto10K and This Month in Higher Ed AV into one session.Host Ryan Gray is joined by Britt Yenser, Tim Van Woeart, and Gina Sansivero to unpack the month’s community theme, Time to Level Up, and get specific about what leveling up actually looks like in real careers, real teams, and real life. The first half is personal and practical: leadership shifts, classroom design growth, mentoring, self awareness about learning styles, and the uncomfortable reality that documentation and continuity can feel emotional because it forces us to admit we will not be in the role forever.The second half pivots into a timely industry conversation sparked by a UK trade piece that framed education AV spend as wasteful and trend driven, followed by an AVWeek discussion and a HETMA board response op ed. The panel digs into why the framing landed as dismissive, why collapsing K 12 and higher ed into one story produces bad conclusions, and why higher ed AV decisions are shaped by governance, accessibility, security, procurement, and lifecycle realities, not shiny object chasing. Articles Discussed:Original article: https://www.avinteractive.com/news/systems-design-integration/are-educational-institutions-wasting-their-money-on-av-14-01-2026/Discussion on AVWeek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FLQnVhkwlAHETMA response op ed: https://www.avnation.tv/2026/02/04/oped-higher-ed-is-not-wasting-money-on-av-but-we-are-tired-of-being-talked-down-to/Join the conversation at community.hetma.orgHost: Ryan GrayLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanagray/Panel:Britt YenserLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/britt-yenser/Tim Van WoeartLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-van-woeart-cts-45416826/Gina SansiveroLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gina-sansivero/This show is a production of Higher Ed AV Media. Visit www.HigherEdAV.com for new content every day.
- Feb 18, 202628 min
132: The AV Nerd with Tom Segers
Ryan is back on the ISE 2026 show floor for Part 2 with Tom Segers, an AV professional supporting Thomas More University of Applied Sciences in Belgium across multiple campuses. Tom shares what it looks like when a hobby becomes a career, and why being detail minded is not just a personality trait, it is survival in higher ed AV.From WhatsApp culture in Europe to the very real complexity of LED walls, 4K workflows, and teacher friendly BYOD realities, this episode stays practical and human. It ends on a simple truth that will feel familiar to anyone in our line of work: if nobody is calling, that might be the best news you get all week.Topics DiscussedSupporting seven campuses with a small AV teamWhen your hobby becomes your jobThe value and downside of being detail mindedCommunication habits and coordination in EuropeWhatsApp as an operational tool at eventsWhat it really takes to make an LED wall succeed in teaching spacesPower, input, and workflow surprises with LED deploymentsThe gap between BYOD policy and BYOD realityDuplicate vs extend mode issues in real classroomsWhy lack of complaints can be a success metric in AVConnect with Tom Segers:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-segers-19b89676/Connect with Ryan@Ryan_A_Grayhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanagray/ryan@higheredav.comVoiceover by Chris DechterHave feedback or guest ideas? Let us know!This show is a production of Higher Ed AV Media. Visit www.HigherEdAV.com for fresh content every day!
- Feb 11, 202629 min
131: Work Together To Make Some Difference with Tom Segers
Recorded live at the HETMA booth on the show floor of ISE 2026, Ryan sits down with Belgium based higher ed AV leader Tom Segers from Thomas More University of Applied Sciences. They talk about what it looks like to support AV at scale with a tiny central team across multiple campuses, and why global community matters when higher education needs a louder voice in an industry that often defaults to corporate assumptions. Tom also shares a Europe specific lens that will feel immediately relevant to US listeners: multilingual collaboration, privacy expectations for students on camera, and why audio quality becomes the make or break layer in hybrid learning. The conversation lands on the practical reality we all live in, construction timelines and technology timelines never line up, so staying connected and learning from peers is not a nice to have, it is survival. Topics Discussed• Running AV services for 20,000 students with a three person expert team• Multi campus support challenges, travel time, local support structures• Finding HETMA through EDUCAUSE connections and building community infrastructure• Why higher ed needs collective leverage with manufacturers• English as the shared language at global AV events• Talking to R and D on the show floor, why it matters more than sales conversations• Hybrid and connected classroom momentum since the pandemic• Student privacy expectations in Europe and what that changes operationally• Audio as the most important, most expensive layer in hybrid rooms• Funding models and lifecycle planning for refresh and replacementConnect with Tom SegersLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-segers-19b89676/ Thomas More: https://thomasmore.be/en Connect with Ryan@Ryan_A_Grayhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanagray/ryan@higheredav.comVoiceover by Chris DechterHave feedback or guest ideas? Let us know!This show is a production of Higher Ed AV Media. Visit www.HigherEdAV.com for fresh content every day!
- Jan 28, 202628 min
130: Catch You On The Flipside with Issac Abbs
Isaac Abbs returns for week two and the conversation leans hard into the human side of senior leadership: how an introvert survives a job that demands constant presence, how you build buy in like a coach building a locker room, and how you create real moments of recognition when your team is the one taking the calls and absorbing the heat. Along the way, Isaac shares what he has learned about getting comfortable being uncomfortable, why delivery matters more than content when you are on stage, and why storytelling is the skill that makes the message land. It is also a Tucson flavored episode in the best way: Isaac’s path from California to Maine to the University of Arizona, a love letter to Fourth Avenue, and an extremely specific answer to the best sandwich question that will make every Tucson listener nod instantly. The wrap up lands with a leadership gut punch that comes up again and again on this show: the question people almost never ask leaders, even though it might be the one that matters most. Topics DiscussedIntroversion in extroverted leadership roles, and building the muscle to show up anyway Practice as the real unlock for public speaking and high visibility leadership Coaching mindset in IT leadership: vision, mission, trust, and buy in Defining wins in IT when the impact is often on everyone else, not you Creating intentional celebration rhythms: strategic plan reviews, win stories, and acknowledging the grind Customer service as a frontline reality, and why recognition needs to be specific and frequent Changing perspective on AI: from caution to strategic momentum, and the risk of falling behind Tucson culture check: Fourth Avenue, Bison Witches, and the U of A tournament memory lane The underrated power of storytelling in leadership communication The question leaders wish people asked more often: How are you doing, and meaning itConnect with Isaac AbbsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaac-abbsConnect with Ryan@Ryan_A_Grayhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanagray/ryan@higheredav.comVoiceover by Chris DechterHave feedback or guest ideas? Let us know!This show is a production of Higher Ed AV Media. Visit www.HigherEdAV.com for fresh content every day!
About AV/IT Amplifier
Higher education institutions rely on audio-visual (AV) and information technology (IT) solutions as a key backbone for modern teaching and learning. The AV/IT industry plays a critical role in providing these solutions, and it is important to highlight the latest trends, innovations, and perspectives in this sector. The podcast “The AV/IT Amplifier” aims to fill this gap by featuring interviews with people from Higher Education Institutions and the AV/IT Industry who have an idea, concept, perspective, event or product that would be helpful or interesting to the target audience of higher education technology managers. The host of the podcast is Ryan Gray, Assistant Director of IT at Yavapai College.“The AV/IT Amplifier” podcast will have a bi-monthly schedule with two recordings per month, each being split in half to provide for weekly episodes. Each episode will be targeted for 30 minutes to be about the length of an average commute. The first half of each recording will
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