Pictured from left are Eli Demopoulos of Winona IT and Josh Smith, the Warsaw student who is interning at the company. Photo provided.

News Release

WARSAW — Josh Smith is working as a help desk tier one technician intern at Winona IT through the Warsaw Area Career Center’s Work-Based Learning program offered by Warsaw Community Schools.

As a tier one technician intern, he helps to fix problems clients are having with their technology, whether related to hardware or software. Smith is the son of Sean and Kendra Smith. He plans to attend Purdue University to study computer and information technology.

How has this position been helpful to you? “This position has been helpful for me because it has helped me see that it is the job I want to go into,” Smith said in a news release. “This job has so many opportunities and wonderful things that happen. The people are amazing and fun to work with.”

What have you learned? “I have learned a lot, whether it was replacing networking cables, printer issues, doing a device setup, how to image a computer and many other things.”

How is this job preparing you for the future? “This job will help me prepare by getting me ready for the real world,” Smith said. “It is helping me learn how to interact with co-workers and clients, how to turn something really tech into something the clients will understand easier.”

What do you like about this job? “I love everything about this job. I look forward to going to work every day because I have a good time and love helping people.”

What Career Center classes have you taken in your pathway? “Intro to Computer Science, Principles of Computing, Information Technology Fundamentals, Networking and Cybersecurity Operations.”

Eli Demopoulos is Smith’s supervisor at Winona IT during the internship.

What duties does this student perform? “First response support tickets, basic network/hardware/software trouble shooting, documentation of important processes, ordering hardware and assisting in projects,” Demopoulos said.

How is this job preparing this student for the future? “It gives the student firsthand experience in a professional work environment. Learning key hard and soft skills and getting a view of what the IT world looks like.”

What do you think of the WACC Work-Based Learning program? “I think it’s a great program,” said Demopoulos. “It’s been changing a lot over the years, and it seems like for the better. Students in the Career Center have such an amazing opportunity with this program, and it not only benefits the students but the companies it partners with.”

Why were you willing to partner with the WACC in this program? “I have a personal experience with the Career Center and wished when I went through school that there was an IT company that was available for the WBL program. I saw it as well as a good opportunity for Winona IT to expand our reach and better our relationship with Warsaw Community Schools.”