I am thrilled to introduce the newest Help Desk staff members! Learn more about these student geniuses and how they can assist you with all your technological needs!

Chandler Joyce-Class of 2016

My name is Chandler Joyce and I am a senior at Burlington High School. This is my first semester being involved in Help Desk and I am eager to learn everything this program has to offer. You can find me in here during period three. At Burlington High School, I am a two-year member of the Varsity Volleyball Team, Treasurer of the Rotary Interact Club, member of the Spanish Club, an Alcohol-Ed Representative, and a Freshman Mentor. My favorite school subjects are History and Spanish.

Outside of school, I dance at Movement Dance Studio in Wakefield, MA, coach U12 volleyball for Team Evolution in Woburn, MA, and work at Dunkin’ Donuts and A Whole Bunch Flower Market. In my free time, my favorite things to do are traveling and spending time with friends and family. The best experience I’ve ever encountered was the time I went to Spain for an exchange trip. In the Fall, I will be attending Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. I will be majoring in Undeclared Liberal Arts, and minoring in History. I’m unsure of exactly what I want to do with my life, but I know that I want to help people however I can.

I enjoy helping people with their problems and work in customer service, which is why I think Help Desk is a good course for me. I appreciate using technology to learn because I can simply search for answers that I don’t have, and discover more useful information. My favorite app to use is Yelp! because if I’m ever looking for a new place to eat, shop, get my nails done, or do anything, I can read helpful reviews that will influence my decision and lead me towards the best option. I’m familiar with using Apple products, such as iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Macs. My goal is to learn how to fix people’s technological issues and teach others how to use different devices, apps, and software. You can connect with me through my blog and Twitter!

Adam Princiotta-Class of 2017

Greetings! My name is Adam Princiotta, and I am a high school junior. This is my first year at the Help Desk and will be working there during period 3. I joined Help Desk in order to help other students and teachers as well as learn more about technology. I took Digital Literacy with Ms. Scheffer freshman year and she recommended that I join Help Desk. I am skilled at using both computers and iPads. My favorite apps are Google Docs and Notability. They are both simple and effective apps that help me daily with school.

I like to learn using technology because it allows me to save more ideas in less space. Instead of having multiple notebooks weighing my backpack down, I can have them in a light portable device. It also helps me learn by allowing me access to the internet, so if I am caught in a situation where I need help but no one can help me, I can count on Google! My favorite tech tip is using shortcuts on the keyboard like control+t in order to open new tabs quicker.

I enjoy learning about how the world works through science and math classes. It helps me understand the world around me. I am involved with the high school tennis team, and I am hoping to make varsity this spring. I am currently thinking about going to college and going for a degree in computer science. At the moment, I am learning the basics of two coding languages, C++ and Python. You can connect with me through this blog and my Twitter!

Caroline Akerley-Class of 2016

Caroline Akerley is a senior at Burlington High School, and a first year member of the school’s Help Desk. She will be available to help with various tech needs during third period. Caroline joined the Help Desk because she is very interested in various aspects of technology, and hopes to better her understanding of it. She is well versed in the Google applications, as well as various other school-related apps, such as Notability, WordPress, Prezi, and many more. She also is knowledgeable on digital art applications such as Photoshop. Her favorite apps include Pandora, Notability, and Instagram.

Outside of Help Desk, Caroline is an adamant member of various extracurricular activities. She is a two year Captain of the BHS Varsity Hockey team and she runs Varsity Track and Field. She is a board member of her school’s chapter of the National Honor Society. She is a chair member of Students for Environmental Action, and a member of Rotary and Italian club. She works at Bedford Farms, a locally owned ice cream shop, after sports and on the weekends. She works at a summer camp in Boxford, Massachusetts every summer. After high school, she plans on attending a university and studying environmental engineering. Afterwards, she plans to earn a master’s degree. Contact Caroline on her blog and on Twitter.

Lucas Townsend – Class of 2016

Hi! I’m Lucas Townsend, a senior at Burlington High School. This is my first year working at the Help Desk. I will be working in the Help desk in 7th period. I joined the Help Desk because I am good with computers, and I feel like it would be a fun experience to help other students with their iPads and other types of technology. I am better at using Windows computers because I have been using them longer, however I am still proficient using a Mac.

Some of my favorite apps for personal use would be Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Spotify and Netflix. For school, my favorite apps would be Notability, Google Drive, Google Docs, and Google Classroom. Technology helps me learn because there are many apps that organize all of your notes and files into one secure location that you can access at any time. Also, all of the information in the world is available with the click of a button, which is extremely helpful. My favorite tech trick would be that you can do math in the search bar on a Mac.

Some of my other interests in school are business and history. Outside of school, I played football and I am a part of DECA. After high school I am going to attend college and major in a business field. You can connect with me on Twitter @lucastown40 or on my blogtownsendtechbhs.wordpress.com. A random fact about me is that I have been watching and playing football since I was seven years old.

Shivank Shukla- Class of 2016

Greetings! My name is Shivank Shukla and I am senior at Burlington High School. This is my first year in Help Desk. The reason I joined is because I love working with technology and Help Desk is a way for me to experience and learn more about technology while also directly helping other people with their problems. Ever since I first received the iPad freshmen year, I took a liking to it. I tried to find all the tips and tricks to the iPads and played around with the apps. The apps were very diverse in their own categories which could be used and applied in many different ways.

My favorite app currently is Notability because of its assorted uses such as taking notes, importing pictures and documents right from Google Drive or other sources. The ability to draw over pictures and highlight specific text makes it a beneficial app for school. Technology helps me learn by finding new tricks and tips for iPads, Macs, and other devices. In turn, I can show other people and they can learn too. One of the best tips about iOS devices is that putting them on airplane mode actually makes them charge faster! In the future I hope to because a Game Designer and plan to major in Computer Science because it combines two of my favorite things, video games and coding. I know Help Desk would help me greatly in achieving that!

Dharini Kapadia-Class of 2018

Dharini Kapadia is currently a junior at Burlington High School. This is her first year in the Burlington High School Help Desk. She has recently joined the Help Desk for her second semester and she will be in Help Desk during second period. Dharini joined the Burlington High School Help Desk to extend her technological skill and knowledge. She shows interest in technology and business management and has come to the Help Desk to gain more skill and experience in both of these areas. She is an expert in problems concerning iPads and desktops. She enjoys using her iPad as a learning tool and some of her favorite applications are Quizlet, Touchcast, Notability, Instagram, Spotify, Snapchat, and a game called 1010. Dharini believes that the technological use of ipads in school is very beneficial. She believes that technology helps students learn concepts more visually and creatively. She is also a part of many extracurricular actives. She participates in the BHS Girls Indoor Track team, Unicef Club, French Club, and volunteers frequently. She enjoys photography as a hobby in her free time. Dharini has a technology blog and her twitter handle is, @rinni272343. she looks forwards to pursuing a career in  technology and business management. ​

My name is Don Boermeester and I am a senior. This is my first year in the Help Desk program and I will be working during fourth period. I joined the Help Desk because during my junior year I was able to work with Ms. Scheffer to help her remodel a room into The Maker Space. During this project, Ms. Scheffer and my other teacher Ms. Chang influenced me to join the Help Desk and I thought it was a good idea because I like helping people out and have a pretty good understanding of the technology that we use in the school. I am best suited to using Apple products because I grew up around them and own many devices myself. Over the summer I found a cool app called Project Color, which allows me to pick a color and it shows you on your phone what the color would look like on the wall that you aim it at. This helps me show what a wall would look like before I paint it. Using technology to learn is great because you have some of the best resources there are right at your fingertips. My favorite tech tip that I use on my Aac is hitting shift command 3 or 4 to take a screenshot of what’s on your screen. Other than technology my other interests are math. Outside of the classroom I play lacrosse and work. After high school I am going to go to college to become a mechanical engineer. You can reach me at my twitter, @dboermeester5. A random fact about me is that I can rebuild engines and fix broken iPhones.

Hey! My name is Josh Boulos. I am a current senior at Burlington High School and this is my first year at Help Desk. I will be a four year varsity player for both golf and hockey this year and also work a couple jobs off to the side. My favorite app would probably be “Waze” navigation. This app has helped me avoid so much traffic and save a lot of time ever since I got it. The best tech trick that I love using is simply the “slide to reply” when I receive a message on my lock screen of my iPhone. This saves me the time of opening my iPhone and going through the process of typing my passcode and then typing a message.

A senior at Burlington High School, Timmy Sullivan is returning to complete his second year as a BHS Help Desk member. He joined the Help Desk in the fall of his junior year with aspirations to explore the intricate technical world. Fast forwarding, he is now an invited speaker having keynoted and presented at various educational technology conferences regarding his work with technology integration, student agency, and personalized learning. Perpetuated by his passions for language, he has developed a business around freelance blogging, in which he can exercise his admiration for syntax and expression, while promoting the personalized learning campaign and indulging in his entrepreneurial aspirations. Having enhanced his learning of the Spanish language through technology, as well as beginning to teach himself Arabic, Sullivan excels in the integration of technology for language learners. He frequently employs applications such as YouTube, Duolingo, and Google Hangouts to learn the fundamentals of a language, as well as connect with native speakers. His “must have” iOS applications for the ‘15-’16 scholastic year are Notability, Duolingo, and the Chipotle app. Sullivan enjoys listening to alternate perspectives, providing advice for students and educators, and practicing foreign language. To contact him, tweet him at @TimmyS54, connect via LinkedIn, or visit his blog.