Student Teaches Himself
by Keith Norman
(This story originally appeared in the Jamestown Sun on March 31, 2005)

Anyone who has ever opened up a computer or any other electronic device probably noticed green fiberglass pieces with all those little parts attached to them. They are integrated circuit boards, and they are the brains and heart of whatever electronic device one is staring into.

For most, they are incomprehensible mazes of copper, diodes, resistors and a host of tiny components. But for one Jamestown High School student not only are these pieces understandable, they are something he can design, test and build.

Matt Schoenhauer may be self-taught but he has an impressive knowledge of the inner workings of a personal computer.

Schoenhauer received his first computer just five years ago. With a slow PC in his possession, he set about learning the how and why of what made it work. The interaction of the hardware settings held more interest for Schoenhauer than games. In fact, he still finds the hands-on aspect of computer hardware more interesting than the less tangible world of software.

This brought him to his next challenge, a home network with four computers that serves as a host for his own web site. Most people contract the task out to a paid server. His network also plays host to what are referred to as LAN parties. Schoenhauer's friends bring their computers to connect to his network for multi-player gaming.

It's quite a service for his from someone who doesn't find computer gaming, or games of any sort, that interesting. "I didn't have any action figures as a child but played with tools instead," he said.

Now he plays with the tools of the Information Systems world.

There are no high school classes in Jamestown to teach a young man the skills to network computers and design circuit boards. Schoenhauer said he "studied Internet tutorials and read books from the library and had a lot of trial and error."

A common result of this kind of learning can be the occasional computer part failure. "Once smoke gets out it's kind of hard to get it back in the component," Schoenhauer said.

Smoking and smoldering failures aside, Schoenhauer has had a lot of success designing and building electronic devices. For the last two years, he has been part of the Science Olympiad team that has not only advanced to the national competition but has finished in the top 10. These projects have given him the opportunity to design, build and test circuit boards. His efforts have combined photosensors, relays and a host of other tiny little components to play a part in the overall project referred to as "Mission Possible."

But even for an experience electronic technician, the occasional bad day can be experienced.

"I had three computers crash at one time," Schoenhauer said, "and something always goes wrong at a LAN party."

Computers are just the most recent product that Schoenhauer has put his mind to. In 1998, he put together what he called the ultimate bicycle as a project for Marketplace for Kids. His two conveyance had a CD player, amplifier, rechargeable batteries and a set of speakers. Schoenhauer still has a few of the pieces of that early creative work around home.

And around home is where you are going to find Schoenhauer most of the tim. Even he admits that he sits in his basement "way too long." His afternoons and evenings are generally spent at his computer, surfing the Internet and learning more about the workings of a computer.

The immediate future will take him to the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton this fall. His planned course of study includes a two-year degree in computer network support and maybe a third year in Web site design.