Education |

These Anne Arundel County interns are refurbishing laptops for their fellow students

Roughly 40 Anne Arundel County students are working with a Rossville-based technology company to refurbish laptops for area schools as part of a summer internship program.

“For us, it’s not about getting work done on the backs of students, it is real world experience for them,” said Melissa Wisniewski, director and facility manager at DALY, which also employs interns from Baltimore City and County.

In February, the Anne Arundel County school system launched a program to make sure there were enough laptops for every one of its students.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, students in grades three through 12 are offered a Chromebook they can take between home and school, while students in second grade and below have Chromebooks for home use.

DALY, a contractor with the school system for the past 20 years, employs the students to collect and repair the laptops, among other things.

The students, who are picked up by bus from Corkran Middle School, are paid $15 per hour and work Monday through Friday.

“They come in, clock in using an app on their phones and are treated like normal employees. It’s a real job for them,” Wisnieski said.

While some students like Diavian Brooks, a 2024 Old Mill High School graduate, received an email about the job opportunity, others like Logan Pepe and Hope Olidipupo, both rising seniors at North County High School, were connected through their schools.

“I knew I had to find an internship this summer so when this came up it seemed like a perfect fit,” said Pepe.

The students get a chance to work on thousands of laptops as they go through the refurbishment process and prepare the machines for the next school year.

While the interns have only been on the job for a few weeks, Brooks said she already has a favorite work station.

“I like the power wash station best,” she said. “I didn’t know what I wanted to pursue for my college degree. I still don’t, but getting the chance to see some of the behind the scenes work in IT has been eye opening.”

Power washing reverts a Chromebook to factory settings so that it can be prepared for the next user.

Victoria Jacobs, a senior at Glen Burnie, who wants to work in engineering, was intrigued to learn how much goes into Chromebooks.

“I’ve been working at the carts station, which is how the laptops are charged,” she said. “It just involves a lot of organizing to avoid crossing wires, but I’m an organized person so I like it.”

Wisnieski said DALY wants to provide students with real world experience that they can take with them.

“In the long run we are just hoping to make good citizens,” she said. “That’s our main goal, that’s what’s important.”