Logan, a former youth in Laraway’s Backpack Program, has goals. He hopes to earn a degree in Computer Systems Management and work on an IT (Information Technology) Team, helping to manage computers for a company. He’s particularly handy with hardware---fixing and rebuilding computers---so working in a tech repair shop also appeals.
Logan spent several years in Laraway’s Backpack Program, our public-school-based behavioral support program as an elementary student. By middle school, he was an independent student in the classroom.
“It (Backpack) was a pretty good experience,” he says. “We got to go to NCAL (North Country Animal League) and play with the animals.” Excursions such as this were offered as incentives for being on task in the classroom during the school day.
Logan enrolled in a computer networking program in high school at a Vermont technical center and thrived. He learned to wire up computers, install operating systems, and troubleshoot. The latter is a very valuable skill for an aspiring IT professional---methodically going through a series of steps to determine the issue causing a problem. It takes patience. It takes skill.
“Our teacher told us to treat our class like a job,” Logan says. “He assigned projects at the beginning of the week and we were expected to get them done. We worked individually, but could talk to each other to figure things out.”
Logan started a Computer Systems Management degree program at the Community College of Vermont. He’s presently interning at Laraway via a partnership with the Vermont Department of Labor and is mentored by Laraway’s IT Manager Jeff Snyder.
“Logan is picking things up quickly,” Jeff says. “It’s motivating and encouraging to watch a young person work toward their goals. I have no doubt Logan will become an integral part of an IT team in the near future.”
Logan understands that earning a degree will open doors to a career in the IT field. For now, we are grateful to have Logan at Laraway to lend his burgeoning expertise!
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