Bytes and Bonds: The District's Student IT Internship Program

Every summer, a dedicated team of high schoolers get real-world experience working with our IT Department.

Since 2018, the Student IT Internship Program has only received more interest. Competition is tough with between 10 and 15 students submitting resumes and interviewing for just five slots. While previous cohorts were almost entirely male, this year’s team is more diverse and mostly female.

The timing couldn't be better. With many District Chromebooks out of warranty, IT handles a growing number of in-house repairs. Funded largely by the Ohio High School Tech Internship (HSTI) program, the District only needs to cover 25% of intern wages.

They work a total of 360 hours over nine weeks doing a variety of tasks.

• Hardware Repairs: Testing laptops, fixing hardware issues and salvaging parts from broken tech.
• System Maintenance: Cleaning devices and updating Chrome OS.
• Classroom Setup: Reconnecting classroom technology once cleaning crews finish in them.

Mr. Mirshahi, who helps to oversee the interns, said that their help makes getting these tasks done before summer ends possible. 

This year's interns:

Genevieve Jones, ‘26: She is recent graduate from the Class of 2026. She plans to earn a Bachelors of Computer Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University. Her interest in coding started early in her education. Although she is the daughter of a software engineer, working with Code.org in elementary school was the true starting point of her journey. Genevieve would like to create something that will positively impact the world.

Mark (Bode) Dopler, ‘26: Also a recent graduate, Mark is finishing his second year of interning with IT. His interest in coding started during his junior year of high school, when he took his first engineering class. He said that although coding is one of the most anger inducing things he’s done, it is also one of the most fun. He is looking to earn a Bachelors of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The Ohio State University. He then plans to join the workforce, ideally finding a role that allows him free time to work on personal, passion projects.

Toby Linfeng Mulholand, ‘28: Unlike some of the other interns, he did not apply to gain experience in this field. Toby was looking for ways to get involved over the summer and connect with others. He mentions that being deaf and relying on a tablet to communicate can make it hard to build relationships. So, Toby applied to spend the summer working alongside a small team of his peers. After high school, he is looking to earn a degree in architecture and develop a career designing a variety of buildings.

Emma Dopler, ‘26: She had a brother and a friend enjoy this internship last year. So, Emma jumped at the chance to apply for her senior year. She wanted to keep learning skills over the summer and says that it has been really helpful to know how to do basic maintenance on computers. While working, she likes to listen to audio books and documentaries. Once the summer ends, Emma is headed to Denison University to study filmmaking. Her goal is to become a screen writer and eventually write her own films.

No matter what their end goal, we know that these students have a bright future ahead of them!