Mr. Steve Dahlin

Mr. Dahlin’s job came to exist when the use of technology became more widespread. Parker had computers in every classroom starting in 1996. He was the first one to do his job at Parker. Mr. Dahlin grew up in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, and went to college in Chicago, where he has remained ever since. In college, he was an English major. Mr. Dahlin has been at Parker since 1999. His first impression of Parker was, “impressive campus, cool old building, weird bricks by the front.” Of the ways the school has changed in his time here, Mr. Dahlin says, “Parker has gotten bigger and has embraced technology through taking attendance and sending emails.”

When Mr. Dahlin gets to work, the first thing he does is check his email so that when there is a tech problem, he can address the issue as soon as possible. Throughout the day, he fixes many more tech issues. In the first semester, he gets many more requests than in the second semester because the teachers are still getting used to their technology. The workload slows down around February. In February, he only gets around five to ten emails a day asking for his help. To be in his position he required very little training, although Mr. Dahlin is required to take a digital test to manage Apple computers. As a result of his touching so many computer keyboards, he tends to get sick every once in awhile. "People are gross," he says with a smile. "All people are gross."

Before Mr. Dahlin came to Parker, he had multiple other jobs, although he's only worked for one school besides Parker. He worked in a mailroom at that school, where he says he “annoyed people at their homes by sending junk mail.” A few other jobs he's had were as a factory worker, a clerk in a grocery store, and as a lifeguard, which he states was “really boring, but when it wasn't boring, it was really serious." Mr. Dahlin also does improv after school with friends. He was introduced to it by his former boss, Matt Riordan, who encouraged Mr. Dahlin to do improv to overcome his fear of speaking in front of large groups. To this day, Mr. Dahlin still performs with the same group he did many years ago. They have gigs in front of small audiences that don't have to pay to see them because “we’re just a bunch of people goofing around, and once people start paying for admission, there are certain expectations that need to be met, and we don't want that pressure.” Improv has helped Mr. Dahlin speak publicly and has been a fun and great experience for him.

Mr. Dahlin specializes in Apple computers at Parker. He prefers Apple over other companies. Mr. Dahlin works for about eight and a half hours a day, from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Mr. Dahlin was originally hired by Matt Riordan. His job can be dangerous sometimes, but he said, “you just have to be careful when working with tools." Mr. Dahlin sometimes uses regular screwdrivers, special tools from Apple and putty knives to make repairs. He says the hardest part of his job is troubleshooting, or trying to figure out what's wrong. The most difficult thing that he has had to fix was a broken server, which he had to "babysit." He gets eye strain sometimes, but he adjusts the brightness of his screen and walks around for a little bit to give his eyes a rest. Mr. Dahlin sometimes gets frustrated when he works on others people's computers. He works with kids when things break. Upper School students come into his office more often to get help fixing things because the Upper Schoolers have more electronic devices to potentially break. Mr. Dahlin says that social media has made bullying easier because it makes it "easier to say bad things.” He thinks that the most meaningful part of his job is helping other people, especially younger kids. He thinks that in the future, technology is going to become smaller and merge into fewer devices.

Here are questions and answers directly from Mr. Dahlin:

Q: When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A: “Spider-Man, or a lowkey James Bond villain."

Q: Is there anyone you admire?

A: "Every time I look in the mirror. I also admire the other people also working in tech support.”

Q: What training have you had?

A: “Very little; only a couple of classes, although they were eight hours a day for a week.”

Q: Has the school ever been affected by a virus?

A: "There's lice a few times every year, but there have been no big viruses in the school since Parker has started using Google Apps.”

Q: Do you work with technology at home?

A: “Sometimes, but I try to avoid it at home. I sometimes have to help my grandparents."