Staff Spotlight: John Moskal, Business Intelligence Administrator

4/3/2019 12AM

Every organization has its Information Technology folks, sometimes stereotyped as condescending data wizards who roll their eyes at our daily computer conundrums. (“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”)

 

At the Center, those duties are fulfilled by one John A. Moskal II, known to some as JAM 2.0. But Moskal is not that guy.

 

“I think of my job as internal customer service,” he says. “Many other staff members directly serve our patrons in some fashion. I serve our staff with their technology needs, so they can serve our patrons better.”

 

Though native to suburban Chicago, Moskal is a proud graduate of Clay Middle School, Carmel High School and Indiana University, where he ostensibly majored in mathematics but secretly majored in music, hanging around the esteemed Jacobs School and playing walk-on trumpet in the various ensembles. Later, he signed on as one of the Center’s very first Box Office staffers, starting nearly nine years ago as a Patron Services Representative. He now manages the Center’s all-important online sales portal (aka “website”) and a vast database of ticketing and other information.

 

Taking a break recently at his double-monitor, headset-equipped workstation, Moskal agreed to open a window on his world and answer a few non-technical questions.

 

What is your favorite part of the job?

Working with this great staff, hands down. This is the best working atmosphere I have ever experienced. It is wonderful to be able to come to work with such committed, caring and wonderful coworkers.

 

What is the coolest thing that has happened to you at work?

1. I got to see my favorite artist in the world perform here: violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. I own pretty much everything she has ever recorded.
2. I got to shake Kevin Bacon’s hand. The Bacon Brothers performed here in October 2011, and before the performance, I was doing some work in the hall and got to shake his hand. I now win at Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

 

Aside from your Center work, how else are you involved in the community?

I am heavily involved in my church, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Carmel, where I serve as a Eucharistic Minister. I also assist in the Children’s Liturgy during Mass and teach a second-grade religious education class on Sundays.

 

What’s something interesting that most people don’t know about you?

I was an internationally competitive gymnast in high school. The height of my career was my freshman year, when I placed ninth all around in a meet in Las Vegas. My favorite events were floor and high bar. I was a very natural tumbler, and I miss doing flips and such things a lot.

 

When you’re chilling on your own time, what musical artist(s) do you most enjoy?

One of my hundreds of classical CDs. I have operas, symphonies, tone poems, fugues, concerti – you name it, I have it. My CD collection compares quite favorably to most college music library collections.