Many Edison students coming back to in-person school from a year of online school were pleasantly surprised to receive brand-new, revamped MacBooks and Chromebooks to use for the school year. Complete with new software and protective covers enough to withstand the wrath of any student, these new computers came as both a blessing and a curse. While they would be useful, setting them up over the course of the summer was a labor-intensive task. Thus, the Board of Education opened up paid internships to students knowledgeable and interested in computer science. 

From a mass email, students could fill out an interest form and undergo a vigorous process to be hired by the Edison Board of Education. Aside from a follow-up form, there was a virtual interview process.

“They looked for team collaborators with background computer knowledge who are also willing to learn,” said Sean Weinbrenner ‘22, one of the interns.

Once the interns were chosen, the work itself ranged from reprogramming Promethean boards for elementary schools to unboxing and setting up new MacBooks for both high schools. 

While the internship did include manual labor, the interns also learned a great deal about programming. Reeyan Shah ‘22, said “I learned Applescript, a scripting language by Apple, to develop a script to automatically inject the school profiles into MacBooks without having to manually do it.”

This scripting language would be beneficial for the hundreds of new MacBooks. Beyond the technical nature of their work, the interns also had many memorable experiences and learned soft skills.

Weinbrenner said, “Many of the supervisors I worked with were very…down-to-earth people. I made many great connections from my internship.” 

With the help of these students from both EHS and John P. Stevens High School, working alongside the supervisors from the Board of Education, the technology in all Edison schools was replaced and repaired in preparation for the 2021-2022 school year.