Mohammad Ahmadi, junior, received the first quarter School Service Award on Oct. 3 for his help over the summer interning for Central’s technology department and Mrs. Barbara Deane, technology specialist. With an interest in helping others and technology, Ahmadi worked over the summer for around six hours a day Monday through Thursday in the span of five weeks. 

Ahmadi provided help to Central’s technology staff and services by moving new equipment, installing desktop computers, replacing ceiling-mounted projectors in classrooms and more. He also spent the majority of his time organizing and preparing 700 Chromebooks for incoming freshmen. 

“We assigned each Chromebook to a student and got them organized alphabetically so kids coming in could just pick them up,” Deane said. “The biggest part for me was definitely getting those Chromebooks ready so on the day of Chromebook distribution, we could move them downstairs and hand them out.” 

Brett Simon, freshman, said he found the process simple. 

“It was really easy to pick up our Chromebooks,” Simon said. “We lined up in the lunchroom and could start using [the Chromebooks] after that.” 

Ahmadi made sure the technology was up to date and relieved the clutter in the building by wiping hard drives of data to prepare laptop and desktop computers for sale.

“He helped replace old equipment with new [equipment] in the classrooms downstairs like in the [Computer Aided Design] lab,” Deane said. “We moved a lot of old equipment down to the pit (a storage area) so that it could be put on the bid list and sold.”

According to Ahmadi, his summer interning experience shedded light on the work at the school that students don’t see.

“It helped me see the inner workings of the school and its technology systems,” Ahmadi said. “I learned many things about the software and hardware and how the school network and servers work.”

Ahmadi has a passion for helping others and the environment. Recently, he founded a local organization called the Hinsdale Climate Coalition and is a Chicago coordinator for an organization called Earth Uprising, where he participated in the Global Climate Strike on Sept. 20.

“It is all of our duties to help others and our communities grow and thrive in every way possible through our own passions,” Ahmadi said. “For me, [it] includes technology and the environment.” 

Currently, Ahmadi is working on building his team and planning environmental events, activities and strikes. He also continues to help students daily with Chromebook software and hardware issues in the Tech Support Internship class offered to students at Central.