Prescott, Arizona — Sometime around 2021, Yavapai College Lead analyst for HRIT  (Human Resources Information Technology) Thomas Eastlack found himself at a crossroads: he was fairly certain that he would like to enter the field of either nursing or Information Technology. He weighed his options, but his fond memories of playing around with computers in years past pushed him to pursue a field of study and eventually a career in IT.

Eastlack saw it advertised that Yavapai College was offering a Google IT certification, and that’s where it all started for him. The certification required him to take two classes over the course of a semester.

“I thought to myself, ‘cool, start with that and let’s see how it goes.’” Eastlack said. “And then right away, I seemed to love it—the experience, that is—maybe it was something that I didn’t know that I was hungry for. And it was then that I enrolled in classes at Yavapai College for associate degree.”

Prior to coming to Prescott, Eastlack, who was born in California, was attending school in Hawaii and working at a restaurant. He recalls a particular evening that served as a tectonic shift.

“It was hot it was night, and it was a weekend,” Eastlack recalled. “I was staring at the line while these tickets were pouring in. I thought, ‘is this really what I want to do?”

At that time, the COVID pandemic was in full swing, but Eastlack saw it as the perfect opportunity to make a change. Fortune would intersect with his own restlessness when Eastlack’s mother, who was living in Prescott, started thinking about retirement. But should couldn’t make that move without first selling her home, and she couldn’t put it on the market as some serious work needed to be undertaken first.

“When I’d talk to my mom on the phone, I let her know I was struggling with my own conditions and my direction, more less sharing with her that I didn't know what to do,” Eastlack said. “She told me, ‘Just come out here. Help me finish the house. You can stay here for free if you help me finish so I can sell the house and retire.’ I literally came to Prescott with nothing, just the clothes I was wearing.”

After securing the Google IT certificate, Eastlack pursued his associate degree in Computer Networking Technology as a part-time student for the first year and went full-time the following year.

“It was one of the most challenging things I've ever had to do,” Eastlack said. “Those classes were hard. The Cisco classes, there's so much information and it’s coming at you so fast. I would sit in the CNT room from around 12 in the afternoon to 8, four or five days a week.”

Eastlack recalled being very impressed by the environment and energy he encountered at Yavapai College, noting that he felt that he could come to the computer lab and somebody would be there to engage with. He said that he didn’t have to hunt people down to assist him—that if people were there, and they usually were—and they were always willing to help and give him their time.

About a year or two into getting his associate degree, Eastlack started as a student worker in the Yavapai College IT department.

“After the first week I thought, I want to work here as a career,” Eastlack said. “This place is great. They gave me autonomy in IT—it was a lot of freedom. And if I wanted to learn about other areas in the department that was more specialized, the Integrations department would be happy to show me. The networking department would be happy to show me. If there's something to do, IT security, and I wanted to get into it, they'd be happy to show me. I loved it, and I ate it up.”

Now with a much clearer direction and the foundation of a trajectory in both academics and a potential career, Eastlack recognized that he needed to gain as much IT experience as possible so that he could continue upon his chosen path.

It was fortuitous timing, then, that the Yavapai College IT department underwent a reorganization, which opened a couple of full-time positions. Eastlack applied for the job and was hired.

Despite working a full-time job, Eastlack continued his studies at Yavapai College to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in Business Management & Leadership.

“My job essentially is to bring innovation and forward thinking and try to improve processes and the like for the HR department,” Eastlack said. “So bringing in like anything that we can automate or really to make my colleagues' jobs easier by bringing IT solutions is my focus.”

To that end, Eastlack started creating specialized AI agents to perform different tasks. A recent example saw him digitize a printed employment law book and giving the AI agent access to that content. He designed the agent specific parameters to only reference particular kinds of information.

“I built another agent that's for Yavapai College policies and procedures,” Eastlack said. “And the idea around that one is that if someone searched for information about a policy on any AI platform, it would kind seek out all policies cross the internet and then provide a sort of homogenized version of an answer. But with regard to Yavapai College Human Resources, we need to follow our policies to a tee. So by using a platform called Notebook LM, I can discretely contain all of our policies and procedures, and the AI agent will only reference those policies and procedures.”

Yavapai College operates seven campuses and centers throughout Yavapai County in Arizona and offers over 100 degrees and certificates, six baccalaureate degrees, student and community services and cultural events and activities.