Tech Guy
By SAEED SAFI & ANDREW DAVIS
When you walk into the Tech Center in the library at Manteca High there are electronics, wires and other miscellaneous parts scattered everywhere. Stacked on countertops. Stuffed in drawers. Spilling out into the wide open spaces.
The student devices vary in quality from brand new to broken. Making sense of all this chaos are the school’s Technical Support Specialists, Thomas Coyan and Elly Allis, both of whom keep the Manteca Unified School District’s oldest campus charged and powered.
“Manteca High is consistently amazed by Mr. Coyan’s effort and attitude he displays daily,” Manteca High principal Frank Gonzales said. “The administration is always excited when we hire employees that display these two characteristics. We are so grateful to have Mr. Coyan on our team because he is willing to go above and beyond to achieve great success for our campus.
Manteca High Technical Support Specialist Thomas Coyan works on a student device in the library on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.
“Mr. Coyan is always willing to help all staff and students to accomplish their goals. He truly cares about adding to the success of this historic campus.”
On this day, Coyan works on a student device and next to him a sea of wires leads to who knows what. There are more than 1,800 people on campus and each one of them has a computer that may need a hardware repair or new software installed.
Manteca High Technical Support Specialist Thomas Coyan checks a Help ticket on his computer in the library on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.
“Our goal is that education is never interrupted by technology,” Coyan said, “but that the technology is working transparently in order to best facilitate our students’ education. … With over 2,200 students and teacher computers, it keeps Elly and I plenty busy.”
Coyan has a passion for technology rooted not in Dell devices, Adobe’s Creative Cloud or HP printers, but instruments and music.
Before he started at Manteca High, Coyan played in five different bands, including three tribute bands. He manned the keyboard for groups that covered the Styx, Journey and ABBA, and continues to play for his church.
In his heyday, Coyan traveled across state borders, picking up gigs and chasing the musical dream in places near and far. He’s been as far north as Washington and as far east as Texas, playing various bars and casinos.
“I don’t miss the travel at all anymore,” he said.
That musical experience, especially on the keys, has helped him transition into a new career. He’s also learned to be resourceful, troubleshooting issues on the spot. The ability to cooperate with your peers and remain poised in the face of an issue have helped him excel on a new stage.
“Being a keyboard player, I am immersed in technology,” he said. “For a while, I was using only a laptop and one keyboard to provide all the different piano and synth sounds on my gigs. One of the keyboards I use now basically has a computer inside it. The other way my music experiences have helped are in the areas of improvisation and cooperation. Oftentimes, when a teacher is relying on a piece of technology for their instruction, and that technology dies, you sometimes have to think out of the box.”
Coyan has been at Manteca High for three years and loves the spontaneity of the job. No two days are alike.
“The nice thing about this job is that it’s never the same,” he said. “There’s always a new challenge, something different to learn, something new to learn. I am constantly learning which is something I appreciate and enjoy.”
Manteca High’s Julian Cruz contributed to this report.
