Winthrop High School is full of helpful and compassionate teachers and students! I, as well as many others, have created relationships here that could not be replicated anywhere else. However, arguably the most willing to help and the kindest person in our lovely school is Miss Jessica Simpson. If you do not know her, she is our instructional technology specialist and in charge of our beautiful library. She is the person to go to when you have trouble with your chromebook or need to unwind in the library after a long day. Having a relationship with Miss Simpson the past two years of my high school career in my AP Workshops, I have found her to be so wise, kind, and compassionate. She is incredibly good at her job, handling hundreds of computers and fixing obscure technology problems, and outside of that a lovely person to be around! I, along with my fellow writers at The Viking Times, wanted to learn more about her position and responsibilities here at Winthrop High, as well as what she does in her spare time outside of school!”

First, I asked Miss Simpson questions to have her position at Winthrop High School.

Zoe Long: “What is your job here at Winthrop High? What are your responsibilities?” 

Miss Simpson: “I am an instructional technology specialist at Winthrop High! However, many people think I’m a librarian. I’m actually here to help with both! Some of my responsibilities are to manage student google accounts, manage chromebooks, and perform basic tech repair (mostly for students). I am also in charge of the library space. It is now usable and you can check books out with a fabulous library website!” (LINK BELOW) 

ZL: “What led you to work at Winthrop High School?”

Miss S: “I had been working somewhere much farther for a while and saw this position posted for a while, so I decided to make the jump! It decreased my commute from 1 hour to 15 minutes” 

ZL: “What do you enjoy about your job? What is your favorite thing about working in Winthrop High?” 

Miss S: “People may think that I don’t get to know the students but I like that in this role I am able to have casual conversations with every student that comes through the library. There are still frequent flyers and I am able to form a nice relationship with those students. This school is a little smaller than what I have been used to and I was looking for more of a community feel, which I feel like I found here.” 

ZL: “Have you always enjoyed technology or known you want to pursue a career related to it?”

Miss S: “Partially. I’m most comfortable with video technology and production type things. That’s what I taught in the past and it eventually developed into how I should further this knowledge base. I went to school for more Instructional Technology. Technology actually scares me a lot because you have to learn a lot, such as all the security aspects. I’ve learned to be very cautious when it comes to the internet.” 

Next, I asked Miss Simpson about her time before and outside of working here!

ZL: “Where did you attend college? What did you study there?” 

Miss S: “For my undergraduate I attended Quinnipiac for Broadcast Journalism. For graduate school I went to Framingham State for Education in Instructional Technology.” 

ZL: “What did you like about this university?”

Miss S: “Quinnipiac has a very pretty campus and it was not a very large school. However, it was large enough that I was able to meet a lot of people. I also wanted to be a bit further from Boston. Framingham was all online so it was very convenient. It was great to experience virtual learning while also learning about it.”

ZL: “What are some of your hobbies outside of school?”

Miss S: “Any spare time that I have I like to spend with other, such as people family and friends. When you work a lot and everyone has different schedules, you look forward to time to spend with other people. I used to hike but don’t anymore.”

ZL: “Do you have any favorites you would like to share? (Ex. Shows, Movies, Foods, Places)”

Miss S: “I love reality tv because it helps me with my anxiety. I truly appreciate real TV shows and the production value they have. I don’t have to pay that much attention and am able to calm down. I also enjoy trying out local restaurants and trying new foods.” 

ZL: “What type of plant are you growing

in the library? Would you want to grow more?”

Miss S: “That’s actually not my plant! That is Nick Marchese’s plant! He had wanted a library plant. He takes very good care of the plant. I only provided the pot and the soil. It’s name is Pepper and it’s a lemon mint plant. I would love to have more plants in the library but I worry that I wouldn’t be able to properly take care of them. Mr. Austin has a lot of plants in his classroom. I have a lot of plants at home. I have a fig tree, a monstera, a snake plant, a spider plant, and more.” 

A huge thank you to Miss Simpson for answering all of my questions! If you need help with your technology, or just a conversation with a friendly face, Miss Simpson can be found in our Library, located on the second floor!

LINK TO THE WINTHROP HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY WEBSITE: https://sites.google.com/winthrop.k12.ma.us/whs-library/home?pli=1