Howard College CIS Class Repurposes Computers for Boys & Girls Club

The Howard College CIS (Computer & Information Sciences) Intermediate Operating Systems Class was presented with a project from the current Leadership San Angelo Class #31 that would benefit the local Boys and Girls Club.

Leadership San Angelo, for their class legacy project, chose to support the Boys and Girls Club.

In discussions with the club, one issue that came to light was a dire need for computers the children could use for homework assignments and other educational software that could help them in their school work. The computers they currently have are very outdated.

Two of the Leadership San Angelo class members are from Howard College - Candice Draper, Dean Business Services, and Lenny Christo, e-Start Grant Activity Director. Spearheading the project, Draper and Christo felt certain Howard College would have the resources to help with the project by including students from the CIS classes taught on campus. In addition, they learned from Mike Buck, a LSA class member and the Director of the Concho Valley Workforce Board, that the Concho Valley Workforce Board had recently undergone a computer systems upgrade and wanted to repurpose the replaced computers.

Together, they saw this as a great opportunity. Draper and Christo contacted the Howard College CIS Instructor, Nita Browne, for her advice on the best way to handle the project. She suggested that perhaps the Intermediate Operating Systems Class might be able to help. Browne pitched the idea to the class of 11 students and they unanimously agreed to take it on as a class project.

The CIS class had to do the research and select an open source operating system. After formatting the 18 donated computers from the Concho Valley Workforce Board, the class installed the new operating system, along with a productivity suite that will help the children with their homework plus added educational games for something fun. The class project will count as part of their grade for the semester. The CIS class is hoping to have the project completed before the semester ends May 16 so they can install the PCs at the Boys & Girls Club.

Browne stated that the students have been very motivated with this project. They are getting hands-on experience … taking what they have learned in class and applying it to a real world situation. And the opportunity to give back to the community is very rewarding; knowing they are doing something that will have a positive effect on children who need it and may not have access to a computer away from school. The repurposed donated computers will be student-friendly and easy to maintain.

This has certainly been a win-win for everyone. Browne and her students hope it will not be the last time they can do something this rewarding to help the community. They welcome others, who may be in a similar situation, to come forward. The community has been very supportive of Howard College and we in turn are willing to do all we can to give back to our community.