Johnson, Walls Join League Staff
By Lauren Kelley, UIL intern | Monday, November 17, 2014 1:56 PM
Baylor alumni Kevin Johnson recently joined the UIL staff as the new IT director. After seeing a message on IT talk that the former director Kelly McCollum was leaving, Johnson’s interest was piqued because of the varied responsibilities of the job. “Most job postings are for a very specific skill set, but this was very wide and diverse,” he said.
As a high school student, Johnson participated heavily in UIL activities, stating this was one of his main attractions to the job. He competed in the Calculator contest, the Number Sense contest and the Science contest, where his team won state his senior year.
He also received “1s” playing his trombone at Texas State Solo and Ensemble his junior year, and his football team made it to the state semifinals his senior year.
“I’m sure I don’t know everything that will be involved with working at UIL, but it includes overseeing hardware and software installations, troubleshooting issues, programming and design, server administration, and familiarizing myself with existing, and planning for emerging technologies,” Johnson said. “Probably so that I don’t get too spooked, people have gradually tossed me some small problems which has helped me acclimate to operating procedures and related personnel.”
Johnson has lived in the Austin area for 20 years, and is married with two children, twelve-year-old Jacob, and five-year-old Samuel. Johnson also likes to bike, play poker and is an avid football fan.
“I try to go to football games on Fridays and Saturdays every week,” Johnson said. “I don’t even really have to know the teams as I just enjoy a good matchup. I’m a Baylor Bears fan through and through, but I’ve lived in Austin long enough to have the Longhorns grow on me.”
Caroline Walls
The fall was a busy time for new hires at UIL. Caroline Walls joined the staff as an administrative manager, working with several directors. Although she is still learning the ropes, Caroline is excited about her new position.
“I was with McComb’s School of Business for eight years,” Walls said. “I just happened to be browsing when I saw that there was a position open at UIL, and the work seemed interesting. I grew up in Texas, so I did UIL activities. I thought, ‘Well, why not try and work for a place I have really good memories with?’”
Walls will be coordinating the State Executive Committee meetings, working on the Sports Officials Committee and helping with records management and retention. Administrative manager is a new position, but Walls says the transition was smooth.
“Everybody here is super nice,” she said. “They are very welcoming. It was hard to leave my last position, but everyone here made it easy to come. I felt like I was leaving one family and coming over to another family.”
In high school, Caroline participated in One-Act Play, marching band and solo and ensemble, where she advanced to State playing the flute. After high school she attended and earned her degree at Sam Houston State, where she met her husband. They moved to Austin and began a family.
Caroline has one and a half year old twins named Annie and Kate.
“I was really excited about having kids here because there are so many things to do relating to kids,” she said. “You don’t get that in small towns.”