On any given day at the IT Help Desk in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, or SCAI, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, the requests are simple until they’re not. Someone needs help finding an email. From 1987. A quick key pickup turns into a realization that the keys are locked inside the very office they open. Software installation? It somehow breaks the entire display instead.
It’s not that anything is broken beyond repair. It’s that technology, like people, has a way of behaving unpredictably. That’s exactly where the help desk team thrives.
For the spring 2026 semester, four student technicians have been the calm in the chaos. After graduation, they’re all heading off to new opportunities, taking with them not just technical skills, but a crash course in problem-solving, teamwork and adaptability.
More than just a help desk
Elijah Scalere thought he’d signed up for a straightforward gig. Instead, the first-year business data analytics student in the ASU W.P. Carey School of Business found himself building systems and automating processes behind the scenes.
“I came into this thinking it would just be a help desk job, but it’s since been much more than that,” Scalere says. “I’ve taken on a lot of project-based tasks.”
The rest of the team echoes that sentiment. Any given task starts as troubleshooting, but quickly expands into scripting, systems design and hands-on infrastructure work. Students at the help desk don’t just reset passwords. They build tools, experiment with new solutions and, occasionally, fix things they didn’t even know could break.
Matthew Louie, a junior studying computer information systems in The Polytechnic School, part of the Fulton Schools, arrived with prior help desk experience. In SCAI, he found himself diving deeper.
“I got to learn a lot more about Linux systems, scripting and stuff like that,” he says. “I also learned a lot more about networking and server troubleshooting.”
Louie says those skills are already opening doors. He is heading to conduct research with Sandeep Gupta, a professor of computer science and engineering in SCAI, blending neuroscience and machine learning.
For Cody Yeung, an information technology senior in The Polytechnic School graduating in May, the most important lessons weren’t technical.
“The biggest takeaway I’ve gotten from this job is how to communicate with different departments,” Yeung says. “Everyone has a different specialty. I’ve learned how to work with each person to get the needed task done.”
Henry Phan, also an information technology student graduating this spring and heading to IBM as a site reliability engineer, puts it simply. The job turns classroom knowledge into something real.
“The work reinforces a lot of learning that you do in the information technology curriculum,” Phan says, pointing to everything from networking to setting up research infrastructure. “And just being able to do a lot of cool stuff is really interesting.”
Expect the unexpected
If there’s one key part of the help desk experience, it’s that no two days are the same.
Scalere says that constant unpredictability is exactly what’s preparing him for his next step: a 10-week internship at the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, California.
That mindset plays out daily at the help desk, whether it’s tracking down decades-old emails, untangling key mishaps or troubleshooting software that breaks in unexpected ways. Scalere says this kind of hands-on problem-solving translates beyond campus.
“We expect the unexpected,” Scalere says. “We have to be very adaptive and find a system that works for everyone.”
Sometimes, the challenge isn’t the technology. It’s undoing what someone else tried first.
“There are times where we have to spend time undoing work that messed things up,” Louie says with a laugh.
But even the tougher days come with a sense of accomplishment. Long-running projects that take months to complete often become the most rewarding.
“When you finally get to finish it, those are usually the best times,” Yeung says.
A team that learns together
What makes the SCAI IT Help Desk stand out isn’t just work. It’s teamwork.
On any given week, you’ll find them troubleshooting side by side, swapping ideas, or heading out to lunch together, where they often end up talking about work anyway.
“I think what makes our team so good is that the knowledge we bring to work is not always work-specific,” Scalere says. “We’re able to bounce ideas off each other. It’s great to talk to people that are as knowledgeable, if not more so, than you are.”
That collaborative environment is something the SCAI Help Desk Supervisor Creigh Daksla has intentionally fostered.
“They work hard to communicate with each other,” Daksla says. “I’m proud of how we all get along together. Seeing them go is bittersweet, but I’m proud that they’re going somewhere they want to be.”
That next step looks different for each student — a U.S. Navy internship, academic research, a full-time role at IBM or a dedicated job search — but the students say that they are leaving with the same strong foundation.
Learning by doing
Part of what makes the help desk unique is the freedom students are given. It’s not just about following instructions. They learn to figure things out themselves.
“If you want to make a script, if you want to put in a new system, the team is very open to that,” Phan says. “They let you grow into your own.”
That freedom comes with risk, of course. Sometimes things break. But even that becomes part of the learning process.
“Every new trouble ticket is an opportunity to learn something new and probably learn about some part of the computer you’ve never messed with before,” Yeung says.
In an environment where technology is constantly evolving, a mindset of curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to try is what matters most.