Staff and students welcomed Devon McNare, the new campus computer technician, to Lewiston High School in October.

McNare graduated from high school in 1987 in Eugene, Oregon, He then went on to study math and English at Western Washington University. After college, he worked as a programmer for 10 years at a small company.

McNare has never lived in Lewiston before, though he did visit in college when his parents lived here. McNare has also lived in different areas, including Oregon, Washington, Florida and Japan.

Around the time the tech bubble popped in 2000, he was working part-time and thought it was an excellent time to travel. McNare found an interest in the Japanese language during a business trip, driving his intent to move to Japan. Although he planned to stay there for a year or two, he couldn’t bring himself to leave Japan, he said. In Japan he got married and had a child. Then 19 years later he moved to Lewiston, where he earned his current job at LHS.

“It’s a great way to mix education and tech,” McNare said of the job.

In his first weeks at LHS, McNare has found that the teachers at LHS are enthusiastic and serious. He thinks Lewiston is a neat place to live, he said. And climate-wise, Lewiston is his favorite city.

He plans to continue as a computer technician next year but hopes to find an after-school club activity to help out. His goals are to get used to his new job, to build new relationships with other staff members and to get to know the students.

To help students, he’s creating a list of tips and tricks for school Chromebooks. Students can share any of their own tips for this list with McNare, whose office is in the LHS library.

In his free time, McNare tends to his garden and enjoys photography. Not surprisingly, he also tears computers apart and then fixes them for fun.

Candice Carlson served in the tech position last school year, and now teaches history classes at LHS.

“Mr. McNare has been an excellent replacement,” Carlson said. “He learns quickly and is proactive about solving problems.”