"The tally started as a joke," Senior Systems Analyst Paul Meyer says, referring to a count that he keeps of the number of weeks that he has worked for Information Technology Services (ITS). "When I first interviewed for the job, I was told that no one had ever stayed long in the position," Meyer says.

But Meyer has stayed put. As of October 16, 2009, he has worked 561 weeks at the College. The tally, which he started when he began working to prove that he would stay, can be seen on his faculty profile page in the College directory. Meyer says that his position in ITS "is a great job," and it is the reason why he has remained at Colby for so long.

Hailing from the East Coast, Meyer received his Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College. He met his wife, Wenda Hunter, after college when they were coworkers at a restaurant. Both of them then went on to complete their graduate studies at the University of New Hampshire.

Meyer's Master's degree is in Hydrology, and soon after completing his graduate work he and his wife relocated to the state of Washington. The duo then moved to Alaska, where Meyer worked for the National Weather Service completing hydrology research.

After 13 years in Alaska, Meyer's employer relocated him to Boston and he and his wife moved back to the East Coast. They purchased a piece of land in Farmington, Maine, and Meyer began commuting from Maine to Boston. When the ITS position at Colby opened up, he jumped at the opportunity.

As a Senior Systems Analyst, Meyer is in charge of overseeing the software package that the College uses and making sure that everything runs smoothly. He works mostly with features that administrators of the College utilize, particularly the Admissions Office, the Registrar and the Financial Aid Office. He also works on programs that many students utilize, such as student employment payroll entry.

Meyer loves working for ITS because "there are a lot of neat benefits [to] working at a college." He cites the access to the gym and the free coffee as two of the best perks of the job. The other members of the ITS team at the College also make Meyer's job enjoyable. They are a close-knit team, and help each other on a variety of projects. In fact, Meyer once played the role of Fidel Castro in a movie called "Bikini Planet," which was directed by fellow ITS worker Brian Zemrak. "I figured it would launch a lucrative film career," Meyer jokes of the role.

When not working at the College or pursuing his film career, Meyer can be found relaxing at his home in Farmington. He and Wenda have two children: Hunter, a senior at Bard College, and Wynn, a college freshman. They also had a foster child living with them for two years, who left in August. Meyer said that having a foster child was an "interesting experience for the family."

In his free time, Meyer acts a general handyman, tinkering and fixing things at home. The family also has a special pastime, which began when Meyer lived in Alaska: sled dog racing. "Currently we have nine dogs at the house," Meyer says. "Having sled dogs has been a big part of our lives." The family is planning to do long-distance racing with their sled dogs in the upcoming winter. That should be right up Meyer's alley, as he has shown that he can go the distance at the College. It is undeniable that his tally will only continue to accumulate in the years to come.