Meet the Tech Team: O.G. Edition
Say hello to the students that have been with MSTS since the beginning of the school year!
February 20, 2020
In the Elkhart Community School system, technology problems are considered especially heinous. At Elkhart Memorial, the dedicated interns who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as Memorial Student Tech Services (MSTS). These are their stories.
Benjamin Rutledge
Senior Benjamin Rutledge has been in MSTS for one year.
Goes by: Ben
Grade: 12
Years in MSTS: One
Team position: Education specialist
Why did you join MSTS? I heard about it from Manny last year and I thought it would be a great learning experience for me.
What career do you think you will go into? I am planning on going to college for Skyscraper Architecture, and on the side I would also love to go further with my artistic talents and and go into music or produce art for Marvel comics.
How will the Tech Internship help you in your career and/or achieve your goals? Tech has taught me to maintain discipline with deadlines and has taught me to improvise, to use previous knowledge, and to use critical thinking to solve problems, which will greatly help me when designing towers and having to assess issues on the fly.
Brayden Hines
Senior Brayden Hines has been in MSTS for two and a half years.
Goes by: Brayden
Grade: 12
Years in MSTS: Two and a half
Team Position: Recruitment
Why did you join MSTS? The reason I joined MSTS is because my friend, Sean, invited me and the group was very welcoming.
What career do you think you will go into? The career I am going into after high school is a combat engineer in the Marine Corp.
How will the Tech Internship help you in your career and/or achieve your goals? I believe that tech internship will help me in my military career, due to the importance of logging all information and paperwork, as well as making sure I double check all of my work.
Nathan Taylor
Sophomore Nathan Taylor has been in MSTS for one year.
Goes by: Nate
Grade: 10
Years in MSTS: One
Team position: Digital design (Creates digital content for the tvs around the school and recruitment posters)
Why did you join MSTS? I have a very strong passion for technology and I believed that this internship would help me improve my skills in customer service, technology literacy, and this internship has helped me with all of those things.
What career do you think you will go into? This Internship has definitely helped me realize that I am very interested in a career in IT or networking.
How will the Tech Internship help you in your career and/or achieve your goals? This internship has helped me realize my weaknesses in the workplace and resolve them for my future endeavors.
Noah Hardy
Senior Noah Hardy has been in MSTS for two years.
Goes by: Noah
Grade: 12
Years in MSTS: 2 years and was also in MSTS when it was just called MSTC
Team position: Web Designer + Data Coordinator (responsible for designing the websites and getting data on what the team does)
Why did you join MSTS? I joined MSTS back when I was a sophomore. I mainly joined the team because I like to work with technology, and I also wanted to learn about technology related issues and problems.
What career do you think you will go into? I’m still trying to decide what career I want to enter. I’m planning on attending college for computer science because I enjoy working with computers, but I have realized I wouldn’t really like a job where I’m at a desk all day working I am more of a hands on worker.
How will the Tech Internship help you in your career and/or achieve your goals? Being at the Tech desk has taught me skills like being responsible for myself, communication, and problem solving, which these three skills will help me greatly in any future job I go into.
Phillip Meadows
Senior Phillip Meadows has been in MSTS for one year.
Goes by: Phillip
Grade: 12
Years in MSTS: One
Team position: Event planner
Why did you join MSTS? I wanted to enhance my technology capabilities.
What career do you think you will go into? I have no specific one in mind but something tech related.
How will the Tech Internship help you in your career and/or achieve your goals? This will help enhance my technology related skills aiding in faster problem solving in my job.
Sean Khomphengchan
Senior Sean Khomphengchan is a founding member of MSTS.
Goes by: Sean
Grade: 12
Years in MSTS: 3 years (co-founder)
Team position: Team Manager
Why did you join MSTS? I like technology and I always think it is a good idea to help others.
What career do you think you will go into? I will most likely pursue a Doctorate in Physics with a special focus on High Energy Physics. I will probably try and be a researcher or create my own firm and see what can be applied.
How will the Tech Internship help you in your career and/or achieve your goals? It will keep me on my feet with what comes out and will help with organization and teaching me how to manage.
Abigail Gratzol
Senior Abigail Gratzol has been in MSTS for one year.
Goes by: Abby
Grade: 12
Years in MSTS: One
Team position: Communications Specialist (communicate with GENESIS and write content for handouts and announcements)
Why did you join MSTS? Even though I’m not very interested in technology, I felt that the tech internship would boost my resume. I also thought that it would help me develop my social skills and learn more about work-ethic.
What career do you think you will go into? I’m still keeping my mind open on this but, right now, I’m planning on attending college to become an archeologist. I also plan on continuing to write and create on the side.
How will the Tech Internship help you in your career and/or achieve your goals? Being at the Tech Service Desk has taught me about responsibility, communication, and problem-solving: important skills for any job. It has also taught me about customer service and the inner-workings of the school, which has made me much more appreciative of my surroundings.
And that’s all for now! Tune in next week for the Fresh Meat Edition!
