Omaha community college teaching tech support for mobile devices

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - There’s a new way to get your mobile devices fixed without busting your budget.

Metropolitan Community College has opened the first known Mobile Device Repair Academy in Nebraska and in the country. The academy teaches students about tech support while offering at-cost repair services to the public.

Christina Croffer, a mother of five, is one of the academy’s first graduates. She says she learned how to turn a need and her passion into a career.

“It was something that I was actually interested in doing versus just going to work because I had to,” she said.

Croffer likes that she is also providing the public with a valuable service.

“It feels good for me because they save money,” she said. “They don’t have to go spend a whole bunch of money to go buy a new phone or money they don’t have.”

Co-founder Jason DeWater says the academy was started to help students and the community solve tech problems at low-cost, or even free. Then the idea evolved.

“We realized this is a great spot to actually teach the art of digging in and troubleshooting problems and fixing those problems and serving the community one customer at a time,” DeWater said.

The Mobile Device Academy mobile includes a one-week boot camp followed by an 8-week internship at MCC’s Reboot Center at the Fort Omaha Campus. Students can earn two Wireless Industry Service Excellence (WISE) certifications which are needed to work in the industry.

“The final exam is, essentially we give the students a broken phone, they have to identify what the problem is, then they fix it,” DeWater said.

DeWater says repairs done at the Reboot Center will not affect a device’s warranty.

“We are part of Apple’s Independent Repair Program, and we’re also part of a similar program by Samsung,” he said. We follow their practices and we do not void warranties.”

Dewater says the Mobile Device Academy is also a way to keep the tech workforce flowing. For Croffer, it’s an all-around win-win as a working mother.

“Having five kids, it’s very cost-efficient,” she says.

The Reboot Center at MCC’s Fort Omaha campus is open to anyone, every day except Sunday. You can make an appointment or walk in.

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