Helping our neighbors is something that seems to come so naturally to the people of Louisiana. Following the devastation and destruction brought on by Hurricane Laura, it is truly inspiring to see how the surrounding communities are continuing to rise up to help those affected throughout Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes.
One shining example of this is a group of students from the Academy of Information Technology at Carencro High School (CHS) who is working to ensure that students who have been displaced are still able to continue their education. When approached by Enterprise Data Concepts, LLC, and The 705 about a joint initiative to repair and restore laptops for displaced students of Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes, Carencro High School was thrilled to answer the call.
“These are exactly the kinds of wonderful learning opportunities that are a perfect match for the skill sets that our students learn in this academy,” shares Claire Trouard, Director of the Academy of Information Technology at Carencro High. “Throughout their four years here, our students become well-versed in computer maintenance repair, web development, digital graphics, programming, and Microsoft Office. They are alsorequired to have a professional internship during the summer between their junior and senior year, so they have a significant amount of experience to bring to the table for this initiative.”
Once EDC and The 705 have collected the donated laptops, a group of seniors at CHS will quickly get to work troubleshooting, repairing and preparing the computers for re-use. “This is such a unique opportunity for our students to be able to experience working as professionals while at the same time being able to help individuals their own age who are going through crisis right now,” says CHS Principal Mary Qualey.
“I love working with computers, so this is going to be a really fun project. I’m glad we get to make a difference,” shares CHS senior Hannah Benoit. “I think it’s pretty cool that we get to help out the people affected by Hurricane Laura – I hope what we’re doing gives them the opportunity to continue learning,” adds CHS senior Isaiah Thomas.