Ever wonder what the lives of people who work behind the front desk in room 262 are like while you tap your foot, watching them scramble to get you a loaner because you forgot to charge your Chromebook for the 4th time this week? Or what their aspirations are? What they want to do after high school? Their hobbies? Everybody’s different, and that includes Joshua Oquendo. He is currently a senior at East Leyden High School, taking TSI as his 10th period class.
TSI, or Tech Support Internship, is a program within the business branch of the school you can take as an elective, mimicking a real technical support firm. In TSI, students are repairing Chromebooks, helping anyone at the front desk, and even walking about the hallways returning them for other students.
Students in TSI are also allowed to work on any passion project (relating to technology in some way) they’d like for a grade, known as their “pathway”. Whether that be getting huge certifications for a future career, developing a game from scratch, or whatever Joshua’s doing as his. “I am just building a drone,” Joshua states, “They gave us materials and told me to build it. It’s just [that] they don’t have a lot of parts that I need, so I need to ask them to order some parts. Right now, I’m just looking up what I need, all the materials and how to code. I’m still looking for [a programming language].”
No matter who you ask, everyone will have a different goal coming into TSI for the first time. “I’m just trying to learn how to fix stuff, and just in the future, if I need to, help make some technical stuff or need to help people with computers.” Joshua’s cousin had taken TSI a couple years before he did, and he was intrigued the moment he heard about it. “Two years ago, before my cousin graduated, he took TSI. He was making PCs with his friend and selling them out[side] of school, and he told me he [was] taught to make [them] in TSI. So I wanted to learn how to make computers, learn how to fix computers, and help people. It’s actually cool.”
He was introduced to technology at a very young age with his parents’ Nintendo 64. He was fascinated by how the console works on the inside and what is used to make those games. “[I got into technology from] being a gaming nerd, all right? I love playing games with friends, family, random people, and I really want to learn how the machines work, how [the] coding, and each detail of the console or hardware works [in] the gaming industry.”
Despite TSI seemingly being made for people who want to full-on nosedive into the tech industry after high school, it could still serve to be incredibly useful in other industries, as well as general tech literacy. “I want to be a food truck driver and sell Puerto Rican food. And a good way to receive the money and make the money is with an iPad that has either CashApp to sell on it so I can get the money, and I need the technical knowledge to fix the iPad, or fix what I need to get fixed without spending a lot of money on it.”
Tech Support Internship is without a doubt an essential class to take for anybody who’s even remotely interested in technology. Technology is everywhere, and nobody wants to be left behind not knowing how it works behind the scenes. Dozens of people from dozens of backgrounds have joined TSI with the same common interest, and are willing to help anyone when they can. “The people are fun, awesome, really funny, and they just help you a lot if you need some assistance…”
