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The Wilmette Beacon 021518
The Wilmette Beacon 021518
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34 | February 15, 2018 | The wilmette beacon school<br />
wilmettebeacon.com<br />
BinaryHeart becomes official club at New Trier<br />
Provides underserved<br />
youth with digital<br />
tools in Chicagoland<br />
SUBMITTED BY NEW TRIER HIGH<br />
SCHOOL<br />
When a group of amateur<br />
computer programmers<br />
from New Trier High School<br />
started recognizing the advantages<br />
of working with<br />
technology from a young age,<br />
they wanted to find a way to<br />
get the same digital tools they<br />
use in the hands of underserved<br />
youth in Chicago..<br />
The students quickly<br />
learned that nearly one in two<br />
American families below the<br />
poverty level have no personal<br />
way to access the internet,<br />
and almost 7 million<br />
tons of usable electronics are<br />
thrown out in the U.S. each<br />
year. With those statistics in<br />
mind, they formed Binary-<br />
Heart, a student organization<br />
dedicated to “empowering<br />
the next generation of<br />
innovators.”<br />
The group collects broken<br />
or unneeded devices, repairs<br />
them to functioning standards<br />
and donates them to<br />
families in need through their<br />
partnership with Northwestern<br />
Settlement, a nonprofit<br />
organization that provides<br />
resources to Chicago’s underserved<br />
communities. This<br />
year, they became an official<br />
New Trier High School<br />
club.<br />
“We had created BinaryHeart<br />
and donated many<br />
computers prior to becoming<br />
a club,” said club president<br />
Marzuk Rashid, a New Trier<br />
junior who hopes using the<br />
high school’s resources will<br />
attract more classmates to<br />
help and increase donations.<br />
On Jan. 13, the club hosted<br />
a donation drive at New Trier’s<br />
Winnetka campus, where<br />
they collected more than 20<br />
computers and spent the day<br />
cleaning, repairing and installing<br />
operating systems<br />
onto the devices.<br />
Club members run diagnostics<br />
on donated items, replace<br />
parts and reinstall systems,<br />
sometimes taking in computers<br />
that are decades older than<br />
they are. Discarded parts can<br />
be swapped out and salvaged<br />
to build new, functional computers.<br />
“Through this process, we<br />
can provide crucial digital<br />
tools to help underprivileged<br />
youth, and also save good<br />
devices from rotting away in<br />
landfills,” the BinaryHeart<br />
website stated.<br />
BinaryHeart collects desktops,<br />
laptops, iPads, keyboards,<br />
mice, monitors and<br />
cables (but not printers), and<br />
all data is wiped from every<br />
device that is donated.<br />
Donations can be dropped<br />
off 3:30-5 p.m. Wednesdays<br />
at New Trier High School,<br />
385 Winnetka Ave. and can<br />
also be picked up for free<br />
near the New Trier Township<br />
area. Visit binaryheart.org/<br />
donate.<br />
School News<br />
John Carroll University<br />
Wilmette student makes dean’s list<br />
John Holton, of Wilmette, was named<br />
to the dean’s list for the fall 2017 semester.<br />
Hofstra University<br />
Wilmette resident named to dean’s list<br />
Srna Sunik, of Wilmette, excelled during<br />
the fall 2017 semester to earn a spot on<br />
the dean’s list.<br />
University of Alabama<br />
Wilmette students make dean’s list<br />
Allyce Armstrong and Kilmer Bennewitz,<br />
of Wilmette, were named to the<br />
dean’s list for the fall 2017 semester.<br />
DePauw University<br />
Wilmette residents named to dean’s list<br />
Abigail Burton and Benjamin Higgins,<br />
of Wilmette, were named to the dean’s list<br />
for the fall 2017 semester. The dean’s list<br />
recognizes students who achieve a semester<br />
grade point average of 3.5 or higher on<br />
a 4.0 scale.<br />
Colby College<br />
Wilmette student makes dean’s list<br />
Sydney R. Koeplin, of Wilmette, made<br />
the dean’s list for the fall 2017 semester.<br />
Koeplin, a member of the Class of 2021,<br />
attended New Trier Township High School<br />
and is the daughter of Kurt Koeplin and<br />
Laura Johnson. Koeplin earned a semester<br />
grade point average of 3.77 or higher last<br />
fall to be included on Colby’s highly selective<br />
dean’s list. Her major is undeclared.<br />
Wheaton College<br />
Wilmette resident selected to softball team<br />
Megan Neuhaus, of Wilmette, has been<br />
selected to the 2018 softball roster.<br />
University of Iowa<br />
Wilmette student receives degree<br />
Luke Hidder, of WIlmette, received a<br />
MAC-Accounting degree at the close of<br />
the fall 2017 semester.<br />
Miami students<br />
Local residents study abroad<br />
Emily Zelten, of Kenilworth, and Josephine<br />
Dondanville, of Wilmette, spent<br />
the fall 2017 semester studying abroad in<br />
Spain. Samuel Mather, of Wilmette, studied<br />
in Czech Republic during that time.<br />
BinaryHeart’s Marzuk Rashid (left) and Jack Eggemeyer repair a computer during the Jan. 13 donation drive at New Trier High<br />
School. PHOTO SUBMITTED<br />
School News is compiled by Editor Eric De-<br />
Grechie. Send submissions to eric@wilmettebeacon.com.
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