Success Academy & GIPS IT Pave the Way for One Student’s Professional Tech Journey

Sometimes all you need is a little push.  For one high school senior, that little push found him exploring the world of IT and with it, a confident career path. 

Tanner Andrews is about to finish high school.  Before this year, he wasn’t certain what his plans would be for his next chapter. But he always had an eye for technology. 

“I've been interested in it for a long time.” Tanner reflected, “It started when I first built my PC a while back. Since then, I've been taking as many IT classes at GISH as I could.” 

Journeying through high school, the concept of turning IT into a potential career hadn’t clicked until he connected with the Success Academy and Dr. Ken DeFrank. The GISH Success Academy is an alternative learning program designed to provide students with individualized support and pathways to success.  Learning can look differently for every student, and a number of students thrive best in smaller, flexible learning environments.  As a student in Success Academy, Tanner found a stronger pathway to stay focused on his school work, and also, discovered a unique hands-on learning opportunity. 

Since the Fall of 2025, Tanner has served as the intern for the Grand Island Public Schools (GIPS) district Information Technology (IT) Department.  A role that never existed before, but came to life through a lightbulb moment between Tanner and Dr. DeFrank. 

"It was Dr DeFrank that thought of the idea originally.” Tanner recalled, “Originally we were thinking I might take some college courses, but then Dr. DeFrank said, ‘Hey, maybe we can get you an internship at the District Office!’ And it really clicked with me, and I was all for it.” 

Spend ten minutes with Dr. DeFrank and you’ll find out fast he believes every single student can find their passion, and that public education can be an arena of outside-the-box creativity.  An educator of over 20 years, DeFrank knows there’s power in simply planting seeds with students. 
 

For Tanner, Dr. DeFrank knew he was capable of achieving more. 

“Great kid! When we first got him [in our program] he’d hardly speak.” DeFrank shared, “But he has just grown so much since being with us. He’s a confident student now… Then we started looking at IT.  Tanner finished all the GISH IT classes and I thought he’s pretty advanced.  So we started dreaming — what if we could get him an internship with us at the district building?” 

Becoming college or career and community ready is the name of the game in public education.  Whether it's through the Academy model at Grand Island Senior High, or through the Success Academy alternative learning program the goal is the same: Empowering students to pursue what they want to do and who they want to become.  For so many students, the strongest opportunity for discovery comes through work-based learning experiences.  Dr. DeFrank spends much of his time not only supporting his students, but working to find them internship opportunities so students can find out for themselves. 

“You have to get that real world application, that real world experience.” DeFrank continued, “Not every kid is ready, but we do have kids that are ready.  And if we could have more internships, I think school would be a little more meaningful for them. And Tanner was one of those kids. It just kind of worked out early on. Tanner was ready for the next step.” 
 

And so, all the players went to work.  Dr. DeFrank connected Tanner with Cory Gearhart, GIPS Chief Information Officer, and they started brainstorming.  A first for the district IT Department, Gearhart liked the idea of providing a meaningful opportunity for a student. 

“Success Academy has a place really close to my heart for the work that they do.” Gearhart said. “So when he [Dr. DeFrank] pitched, he just said, ‘I don't know if you have an opportunity or an opening there, but I got a kid who'd be a great fit and I would like to do something for him.’ And I said, You know what, we're ready to do this, and we have the right people in place. Dalton on our IT Team has been fantastic at mentoring Tanner and getting him going on work that’s actually making a difference for us.” 

Since joining the GIPS IT Team as an intern, Tanner has been all-in on both the work at-hand and getting to know the district better.  A typical shift for him includes breaking down Chromebooks, troubleshooting personal device issues, but also providing customer service to different departments at the GIPS Administration Building.  And, of course, chatting with Dalton, his IT mentor, about life, favorite computer programs, and the fastest ways to get around the building. 

While the experience of learning customer service and contributing to larger scale IT efforts are meaningful, it’s another discovery Tanner made that’s proven to be invaluable… a plan for after high school. 

“I'll say that learning is one thing, but actually doing it is most of it. Learning can prepare you, but doing it is the hardest part and best part.” Tanner said.  “I'm really looking at college now. I'm thinking CCC [Central Community College] maybe, so I want to explore IT there. Maybe Wayne State afterwards, we'll see. I don't have all the answers right now, but I'm looking forward to it.” 

Seeing it all come together for Tanner has been the reward for Dr. DeFrank and for Mr. Gearhart.  The work itself would be cool enough, but knowing the larger piece is falling into place with discovering career opportunities — that is what it’s all about. 
 

“I love that our district is open to this.” DeFrank said, “Having those opportunities in the district being readily available that fulfill those student needs — it’s very, very nice.” 

Gearhart salutes the sentiment and looks forward to welcoming more interns in the future. 

“Tanner has shown us through the work that he's been doing just how valuable it is to have an intern on our team.” Gearhart affirmed, “Having him here has really amplified our ability to achieve our goals and objectives. It's been a great fit.” 

The school year’s not done yet.  

On a few mornings or afternoons a week, you can find Tanner in his signature hat with his staff ID badge working away at his workstation in the IT maintenance shop.  He’s gotten pretty fast at breaking down a Chromebook and you’ll see his focus locked-in on the task at hand… with a smile on his face.  He knows how to fix the bugs on his to-do list, he’s growing more confident in providing customer service, and he sees the future ahead of him with clarity. 

“I don't think I would be here without Success Academy. Simple as that, they really helped me out.” Tanner reflected. “This internship has taught me a lot more about what I'm interested in with IT to the point where I'm confident in actually going to college.”

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