This story is part of our UCSF People series, highlighting the many dedicated individuals across the UCSF community who advance health worldwide through research, education, and clinical care in their everyday work.

 

 

Everyone has a part to play at UC San Francisco. 

That’s especially true at Educational Technology Services (ETS), where one wrong move or faulty cable can upend an entire live event. The group supports classroom spaces across UCSF and produces major in-person, virtual, and hybrid events like State of the University, Town Halls, commencements for the professional schools and Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, and the Founders Day and UCSF Medal award ceremonies. 

“My job is to understand people and help them tell their story, then figure out the technical stuff,” Isaac Conway-Stenzel, an ETS senior video producer/director, said. 

UCSF Grad Slam is another of the annual UCSF events he and the ETS team support. 

The annual competition challenges PhD students to present a compelling presentation of their dissertation research in three minutes or less, using language that non-specialists can understand. This year’s Grad Slam culminated with presentations by 10 PhD finalists on a weekday in April at UCSF Mission Bay’s Genentech Hall. 

Conway-Stenzel – a UCSF veteran of more than 20 years – was there, as he always is. 

“We’ve done a bunch of these,” he said. 

In doing so, Conway-Stenzel is a main cog on the trusted ETS team assigned to each of these programs. “I can say, ‘Can we get a close-up on the speaker?’ and they know what I’m talking about,” he said. “Or, if I notice a little extra noise on one of the microphones, I can say, ‘Hey, we’re getting a little interference on the speaker’s microphone. Can we check on that?’ And they know what to do.” 

Producing Grad Slam is a long day that takes Conway-Stenzel to two UCSF campuses, and into lots of planning, testing, and troubleshooting, with time for other event preparations along the way. To unwind, his day finishes with band practice – a personal twist on the professional part he plays to keep UCSF humming. 

Tag along as we follow Conway-Stenzel through a day in his life. 

 
Clock that reads 8:29 a.m.
Notecard that says “Light, camera action”.

 

The first stop of the day is UCSF Parnassus Heights. 

That’s where the main ETS office is located. 

On this trip, Conway-Stenzel grabs three rolls of gaffer’s tape and XLR cables. Then, it’s off to a UCSF shuttle bound for the Mission Bay campus, where he’ll pick up more equipment at Mission Hall. 

 
Man in a baseball cap and hoodie organizing cables on a wall rack.
Man in a cap and hoodie stepping off a bus, carrying stacked containers and a bag.
Clock that reads 9:31 a.m.
Notecard that reads “What did I forget?”

 

Finally at Mission Bay, Conway-Stenzel heads to an ETS storage room. 

There’s nothing more important than preparation, especially because many of these events cater to live audiences and people joining remotely. 

The experience must be the same for everyone, no matter where they’re at. 

“We just want to solve problems,” he said. “We understand that the focus of our job is supporting the faculty and students.”

Grad Slam is just six hours away. 

 
Man with a backpack walking down a hallway towards an office space.
Clock that reads 11:04 a.m.
Notecard says “Lining up camera angles.”

 

Enter the “video village.” 

Conway-Stenzel and Kyle Van Auker, also an ETS senior video producer/director, set up and test computer screens and other audio and video devices in the backstage area of Byers Auditorium at Genentech Hall. “I definitely feel like I’m part of UCSF's mission,” Conway-Stenzel said. “I’m contributing by providing these services.” ​​​​​​​​​

 
Two men looking over a reflective surface, with an auditorium visible in the reflection.
Clock that reads 1:13 p.m.
Notecard says “Teamwork makes the dream work.”

 

Time to work ahead. 

Conway-Stenzel and Van Auker are joined by Brian Coe, ETS senior AV technician, on a field trip to the UCSF Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building in the nearby Dogpatch neighborhood. 

They’re heading to the site of the Chancellor’s Leadership Forum on Diversity and Inclusion – scheduled to take place there a few weeks later – to test an “audio patch,” which allows ETS to produce a particular sound or effect on an audio channel. 

 
Three men walking and smiling on a city street with buildings and palm trees in the background.
analog clock says 1:24 p.m.
Notecard says “I sure do end up in some odd places.”

 

This line of work is full of surprises. 

Starting in video production when he was just 12, no one knows that better than Conway-Stenzel. First, he squeezes into a walkway behind a wall. Later, the team, now including AV Event Specialist Jonas de Leon, discuss staging and audio for the upcoming Chancellor’s forum on the floor of an empty auditorium. 

 
Man in a cap emerging from a small access panel next to a server rack.
Close-up of hands wrapping a black cable with a Velcro strap.
Wide shot of an empty modern auditorium with a large screen and a few people on stage.
Clock that reads 3:18 p.m.
Notecard says “Break a leg!!!”

 

Grad Slam is fast approaching. 

Back at Genentech Hall, it’s time to prep the student presenters. 

Finalists Matt Arvedson, Devin Schoen, Maggie Colton Cove, Kaylee Wedderburn-Pugh, Kai Trepka, and Zach Cogan get a briefing and share a laugh with Conway-Stenzel, ETS AV Technician John Tes, and Erik Rotman, communications manager, Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs and Education and Student Affairs. 

“What an impressive group we have this year,” Conway-Stenzel said. 

The PhD students are competing for cash prizes of $4,000, $2,000, $1,000, and $750. 

The winner will move on to the University of California’s systemwide Grad Slam final, where presenters from across the UC vie for an $8,000 grand prize. 

 
Group of diverse people chatting and smiling in a conference room hallway.
Clock that reads 4:05 p.m.
Notecard reads “Showtime.”

 

No pressure. Grad Slam 2025 is on. 

Conway-Stenzel settles into the director’s chair as Nicquet Blake, PhD, vice provost and dean of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, kicks things off on stage. 

 
Close-up profile of a man with a beard and headphones looking intently at a screen.
Man with headphones operating a sound mixing board with multiple monitors.
Clock that reads 5:51 p.m.
Notecard reads “We have a winner!”

 

After almost two hours, PhD student Sophia Miliotis is declared the winner for her presentation on how our immune systems track and kill HIV. 

But the livestream doesn’t simply end there. 

Conway-Stenzel and the ETS team manage to frame up the perfect shot as Blake and D’Anne Duncan, PhD, assistant dean of Graduate Student Affairs in Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, flank Miliotis with a $4,000 check during a standing ovation. 

 
Hands with raised fists in the foreground, viewing multiple monitors showing a conference audience.
Clock that reads 6:24 p.m.
Notecard reads “Kyle is such a pro!”

 

The ETS team loads out. 

Conway-Stenzel and Van Auker share a celebratory fist bump before calling it a day. 

 
Two men fist-bumping next to a large monitor on a stand.
Clock that reads 7:42 p.m.
Notecard reads “When I’ve got the music I’ve got a place to go.”

 

Now for the fun part. 

After work, Conway-Stenzel meets Paul Schmidt and Robert Stroud, MA, PhD, professor in the UCSF School of Medicine’s Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and founder of the Stroud Lab, for a jam session at Green Room Music in Pacifica. 

They call themselves Bob Stroud and the Jailbirds. 

Together since 2006, the three play a combination of 1960s and 1970s rock and surf music.

“Especially in music, every job is really prescribed,” Conway-Stenzel said. “The drummer has to play the drums and the guitarist has to play guitar, but there’s nuance to that. The same thing applies to our team at ETS.” 

 
Three men playing guitars and singing in a music studio.
Man playing a bass guitar with a microphone in the background.

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