Teen gives tech support to retirement community

Casey Way is basically tech support for the residents at the retirement community Splendido.

The 14-year-old started volunteering there around Christmas 2014 when his grandmother, a resident, noticed a number of packages had not yet been delivered to rooms.

So Casey started doling out packages.

Then, word of his tech savvy got out when he helped a friend of his grandmother’s with her computer.

“She told all of her friends, and more started asking me to help,” Casey says.

He works with service attendant Sue Martin when she makes rounds at Splendido at Rancho Vistoso, helping residents to change printer ink or reset routers.

Casey spends one or two Saturdays every month helping residents with all things electronic. Since last winter, he has donated about 200 hours of his time.

If the Internet goes down, Casey can probably fix it. When a cable box needs installing, Casey figures it out. He tidies tangled cords and teaches tablet basics.

Most of the residents have televisions and computers. A few have tablets and many have smartphones, he says.

Asking Casey for help gives residents a free alternative to paying for professional tech support.

“I really like helping people with their computers, because it’s something I’m good at,” Casey says. “It makes me feel good that I can take one of my talents and help people who don’t know what they’re doing.”

Casey thinks he was about 10 when his parents bought him a computer. Not long after, he took it apart and put it together outside of the case.

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That was the beginning.

Now, he builds computers for his friends and fixes broken electronics.

“We just yell his name whenever anything breaks,” says Jodi Grassmeyer, his mother.

When Casey dismantles computers, he often saves the parts. They can come in handy.

“I remember there was this one lady who needed a new computer and didn’t want to spend a lot of money, so I bought the parts separately,” he says of helping a Splendido resident.

For less than $100, he purchased a new motherboard, CPU and RAM to pair with the existing hard drive and case, he says.

“Residents love him. He is patient, kind and explains things,” Martin says. “Some kids will know technology but not know how to explain it, but he can explain it to them in their language.”

Tech tutoring can get frustrating, but mostly Casey enjoys his interactions with seniors. Sometimes, he gets paid in baked goods.

“They appreciate a teen spending time with them and giving them attention and listening to their stories,” Grassmeyer says. “Casey does not run out of people who need help with digital-age electronics.”

Not much stumps Casey, and most answers are just a Google search away. Troubleshooting usually takes about 30 minutes. He loves when someone says, “How did you do that so fast?”

Outside of his volunteer work, Casey played football this year as a freshman at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy. Someday, he sees himself pursuing a career in computers and engineering.

“I like to volunteer because it helps people,” Casey says. “I think it’s important for people who have skills and who have time they don’t need to go and help other people who don’t have those skills.”