Putting the “Personal” Back into Computers

An atypical geek, Mark Wood repairs tempers while he troubleshoots computers. His video is one of 200 “Meet a Scientologist” videos available on the Scientology website at www.scientology.org.

Scientologist Mark Wood manages tempers as effortlessly as he manages a company’s IT needs.

A child genius who read newspapers by the time he was five and spent his childhood devouring books, his search to unravel confusions about life led him to Scientology in 1984.

“There had to be more to life than just being born, growing old and dying,” says Wood. “But I couldn’t find satisfactory answers to my questions. A friend brought me to Saint Hill, the Scientology headquarters in England, and I found what I was looking for.”

Early in his Scientology training, Woods learned the communication skills that enable him to provide computer support, even to the technologically challenged.

“When their computers quit, people can become annoyed and frustrated. They may have trouble describing the problem. That makes it harder to find the bug,” says Wood, 44. “Because I stay calm and continue to communicate even when tempers flair, I can pull the puzzle apart and get things working again.”

Quiet and shy when growing up, when Wood enrolled on the Scientology communication course early in his Scientology career it was a turning point for him. He relies on the skills he learned for a great deal more than computer troubleshooting. Wood and his wife are both highly trained Scientology auditors or spiritual counselors. An auditor is “one who listens,” from the Latin audire, meaning “to hear or listen.”

While successfully carrying out his responsibilities as an IT manager, Wood holds a staff position at the Church of Scientology Saint Hill Foundation, which provides Scientology training, counseling and other religious services to the local Sussex community, evenings and weekends. In fact, for most of the past 17 years Wood has worked at a Scientology Church or in a secular social betterment group that uses technology developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard to help people free themselves from drug addiction.

“My wife and I work together as a team, helping each other out,” says Wood. “We also get a lot of support from our employers and the staff at the Church. Helping people is what we live for. When someone comes in crying and leaves laughing, that’s life at its best.”

Watch the Mark Wood video at Scientology.org.

The popular “Meet a Scientologist” profiles on the Church of Scientology International Video Channel at Scientology.org now total 200 broadcast-quality documentary videos featuring Scientologists from diverse locations and walks of life. The personal stories are told by Scientologists who are educators, teenagers, skydivers, a golf instructor, a hip-hop dancer, IT manager, stunt pilot, mothers, fathers, dentists, photographers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, engineers, students, business owners and more.

A digital pioneer and leader in the online religious community, in April 2008 the Church of Scientology became the first major religion to launch its own official YouTube Video Channel, which has now been viewed by millions of visitors.