Students giving back to students through Repair-A-Palooza

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- Some local students are gearing up for winter break by repairing broken Warren County School devices for staff and students. The holiday season is a time for giving, and a few students are giving back to other students across the district.

District technicians with Warren County Public Schools got together for Repair-A-Palooza. One technician for WCPS, Dustin Pitts, says, “We had over 300 devices that needed to be repaired, and we thought it would be a good idea, as a little Christmas present to the schools and the staff, to repair as many as possible before Christmas break, and to get them back in the hands of students.”

A great deal of the repairs are accomplished by students who work at the help desk in Warren Central High School. Maroaina Weiss, a junior at WCHS, says “We get to be known, other schools still have the help desk, it’s not just at Central. But Warren Central, we go places, we do things, and it is really exciting to get it out there.”

Help desk students work during the school day to fix any technical problems teachers or students may run into, using skills they have learned through hands-on experience.

Pitts says, “Typically I do a little crash course showing them “this is what things are”, but the best way to teach them is to just let them have test devices that are broken. Let them play with them, take them apart, get the screen off, put it back on, and go from there. Just hands-on experience.”

Not only do students repair devices and track information, but they work together with their colleagues to problem-solve, which ultimately prepares them for their future. Weiss says that this opportunity is giving her skills for her future. “It definitely goes in with my career that I want to do, and if that doesn’t work out, then this is absolutely what I would do. It gives you a responsibility, and it is helping me follow what I need to do.”

Help desk students and Warren County Public School technicians repaired about 300 devices during this year’s Repair-A-Palooza.