Most people don’t think about who keeps the tech running in a school district—until something breaks. But for Tony Hancock, keeping Ottawa Elementary Schools connected, functioning, and tech-ready is an everyday challenge that never gets boring.

“If something stops working, I’m usually the guy people call,” Tony says with a laugh. Whether it’s a MacBook that won’t boot, a server that’s acting up, or an iPad that needs a micro-soldered repair, he’s the one crawling out of the server closet, tools in hand.

Tony has been with the district for almost two years, but his background in tech repair and IT troubleshooting goes far beyond school walls. Before joining Ottawa’s schools, he worked as a repair technician at a computer shop, where he specialized in Mac and iPhone repairs, micro-soldering, and even fixing outdated factory equipment.

“People would bring in devices with broken charging ports or dead circuit boards, and I’d solder new connections to bring them back to life,” he says. Precision work with a microscope, a steady hand, and a deep knowledge of hardware became second nature. That skillset made him a perfect fit for managing Ottawa’s district-wide tech needs.

Tony’s transition from shop tech to school IT was a natural one. “I moved from repairing individual devices to keeping an entire school district’s network running,” he says. Ottawa’s schools rely on Apple products—iPads, MacBooks, and Apple TVs—so his background in Apple repairs became an instant asset.

“I probably spend half my time fixing iPads and MacBooks, but the other half is networking—making sure Wi-Fi works, servers stay online, and everything syncs the way it should.”

That’s no small task. Today’s classrooms depend on digital tools for learning, testing, and communication. A Wi-Fi outage, a software glitch, or a broken batch of student devices can derail an entire school day.

“If the Wi-Fi crashes or an iPad won’t turn on, school doesn’t stop—but it sure slows down,” he explains.

With a mind for tech and a tinkerer’s soul, Tony didn’t always know he’d end up in IT. Growing up in nearby Oglesby, he was always drawn to how things worked.

“As a kid, I loved taking things apart—computers, electronics, anything mechanical,” he says. That curiosity led him to IVCC, where he earned a cybersecurity certification while working tech jobs on the side.

But he quickly realized that real-world skills mattered more than degrees.

“In IT, certifications hold more weight than a diploma,” Tony says. He’s now working on certifications with Cisco and Meraki, two of the biggest names in networking. “It’s about proving you actually know what you’re doing—not just that you sat in a classroom for four years.”

While he didn’t grow up in Ottawa, Tony loves the tight-knit, small-town feel. He believes the biggest challenge for communities like ours is just keeping young people engaged. For now, though, he’s happy keeping Ottawa’s schools running behind the scenes—one fixed iPad, rebooted server, and untangled cable at a time.

And while most students never see him working, they sure know when he’s saved the day.