Aidan Wick, a service management developer on MISO's IT team, just wrapped up volunteering at Newman Elementary School in Billings, Montana. Since February, he has spent his lunch hour sharing his passion for all things tech-related with a group of eager fifth graders. As a remote employee, Aidan demonstrates the impact just one volunteer can have in their community.

Aidan was introduced to Newman Elementary after his grandfather began volunteering there through a national program called the Foster Grandparents Program. Volunteering—especially in schools—has always been a significant part of Aidan’s life, as several family members have served as counselors and superintendents in school districts across Montana and North Dakota. Aidan also has previous experience as a volunteer tutor.

Using resources provided by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for teaching K–5, Aidan collaborated with the school’s principal, Joseph Walsh, to develop a new extracurricular course for high-achieving fifth graders. The course teaches a wide range of computer skills in a fun and safe environment, with an emphasis on cybersecurity fundamentals.

Aidan listened closely to the students and adapted sessions to fuel their curiosity. Since they were giving up their lunch playground time to participate, he made sure to include opportunities for them to contribute ideas and suggest topics that would keep them engaged.

The curriculum covered topics such as online safety, two-factor authentication, password managers, asset tracking and security, data center security, disaster recovery, and best practices for working with AI. To keep the students engaged, these lessons were paired with fun, hands-on activities like building a gaming PC, exploring the inner workings of a commercial server, setting up a Minecraft game server, and coding a video game in Roblox.

“I like to volunteer because it puts me out of my usual day-to-day routine and helps me develop skills that I wouldn’t normally think to focus on. Volunteering also helps me connect with others in the community and build great friendships,” said Aidan.

Thank you, Aidan, for demonstrating commitment and adaptability in developing this program. We look forward to hearing more about your continued work with Newman Elementary School.

MISO’s community service resource group encourages employees to use their four paid volunteer hours per month to serve the communities where they live and work. Learn more about MISO's culture on our website.