We are slowly moving into a world where everything is becoming computerized. For some, this transition can be challenging, but for one student from Pierz High School, this is a world that he’s most comfortable in.

“If you have a question, Google can answer it,” Simon Kroll, a Healy High School Junior, said.

That’s how Simon Kroll, a junior from Pierz, starting learning about computers…Google.

His curiosity has given him a wealth of knowledge when it comes to computers, and he recently became a national champion at the Business Professionals of America Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California. Kroll earned first place in the PC Servicing and Troubleshooting Event.

“PC Servicing and Troubleshooting is a competitive event where people that compete in it look at specifications of hardware in computers, software in computers, and how to work around them,” Kroll said.

He became the first person from Pierz to be a BPA national champion, and he also took 2nd place in Computer Security, and 5th in Information Technology Concepts.

“If you asked me three years ago if I would be going to California as part of a school trip, I’d say, ‘No way,’” Kroll said. “It’s allowed me to go on some really cool trips, see some really cool things, and more importantly meet some really interesting people.”

“He’s very serious about his education,” Geri Pohlkamp, Healy High School career advisor, said. “He sees the value, that’s his future, and probably his family farm’s future.”

Speaking of the farm, Simon’s been able to use his knowledge to help his family in ways they probably didn’t think were possible.

“I live on a farm, and one of things we’re doing now is moving to precision agriculture which monitors your field density, and your seed population,” Kroll said. “It’s all put on computers, it’s all stored on the cloud, and part of it is knowing how to hook this stuff up, how to configure it, and how to install the new software updates.”

“He had to put a new device on the top of the tractor,” Pohlkamp said. “It took him fifteen minutes, and in the instructions it said it should take a technician two hours.”

With everything moving towards the digital world, Simon’s knowledge will be useful for years to come.

“I think it’s going to play a huge role in future careers,” Kroll said. “I think it’s one of the most up and coming job fields. I think everyone in the future is going to need some degree of knowledge of how computers operate in order to be successful in any career field.”

Simon isn’t sure what field he specifically wants to enter into, but judging by his success I’m sure it will have something to do with computers and technology.

Simon is hoping to make it back to the national competition next year which will be held in Washington D.C.

By — Anthony Scott