Eagan High School Freshman Uses Computer Skills to Give Back

Even in preschool, Collin Westgard had an affinity for computers.

"At age four, he was the kid in the room who would rather help someone else play on the computer or work on it, than play with the blocks," his mother, Kathleen, remembers.

Westgard, now a 15-year-old freshman at Eagan High School, still loves tinkering with computers and helping others—two traits that have earned him a special shout-out from Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire and the Eagan City Council.

That's because Westgard, who works out of his parents' garage in Eagan, is using his skills to build and donate computers to local students. As if that wasn't enough, he also provides free tech support to elderly computer owners in the community.

"With youth like this, and parents like this, this community's future is as bright as it gets," Maguire said at a presentation last week honoring Westguard and his family.

For years, Westgard has built and refurbished computers with spare or donated parts given to him by family, friends and other community members. But he only recently started assisting local students, with the help of his mother, who is a District 196 teacher.

Kathleen Westgard occasionally works with students who do not have access to a family computer. And it was Kathleen and Collin, working in tandem, who came up with the idea of voluntarily providing refurbished, customized computers to those students.

"We assume students have access to technology and we assume they have access to the Internet, but that isn’t always the case," Kathleen Westgard said. "These kids can use and access the computer at school, but there's often not enough time to get a paper done."

Rebuilding a computer with spare parts collected from the community is a complicated job by itself, but Westgard must also ensure that the computer he's building fits the needs of its intended recipient.

Could the student get access to wireless Internet service? Which operating system—Windows or Linux—is best for the student's needs. What other computer accessories will the recipient need? Will they require an instruction manual?

Those are all questions Westgard must take into account when building a computer for donation.

For many, the process of restoring a barely functional or non-functional computer for use would be riddled with frustration—but for Westgard, all the logic and problem-solving is a rush.

"Once you realize that you’ve been working at it and you finally understand what the problem is, it’s just a lot of fun," Westgard said.

Westgard says he learned his enthusiasm for electronics from his father Rich, a Microsoft employee, who allowed Westgard to play with and explore electronics at a very young age.

Equally satisfying for Westgard, however, is the knowledge that he's helping people when he's working.

"I feel that I can help people who aren’t as fortunate as I was," Westgard said. "I love computers and I feel it’s very good to give someone else the ability to have their own computer."