At Fidelis, we believe in building the future not just through technology—but through people. That’s why our team jumped at the opportunity to take part in Mattson Middle School’s Career Day in the Kent School District on March 26, 2025.
Our very own Scott Wittstock, Paul Zimmerman, and Melissa Belmontez brought the world of IT to life for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students… by turning it into a game. Literally.
🎮 Welcome to the World of IT… Role-Playing Style!
Instead of giving a typical presentation, we unleashed a custom-built, Dungeons & Dragons-style IT role-playing game, where students became characters in a wacky tech company solving hilarious workplace disasters.
Each classroom became a mini tech startup in chaos. Students were randomly assigned quirky tech roles like:
- 🖱️ Help Desk Hero (armed with a headset and lots of snacks)
- 🔐 Cybersecurity Ninja (paranoid but prepared)
- 🌐 Network Wizard (can summon Wi-Fi… sometimes)
- 💽 Field Tech (always forgetting their screwdriver)
We rolled real dice. We faced real (fake) problems. And we let the kids guide the decisions.
🌀 How the Game Worked
Each round started with a ridiculous IT emergency from a made-up local business like “Wi-Fry Chicken Shack” or “404 Not Found Detective Agency.” The students had to work as a team to solve issues like:
- “The Wi-Fi went down during a livestreamed llama wedding.”
- “The boss clicked on a suspicious link again—his screen is now only displaying glitter.”
- “Your technician spilled orange soda into the server rack… again.”
Each student used their character’s strengths (or struggled with their hilarious weaknesses), and we rolled a D20 die to see how the situation played out. A 1 meant total disaster (“The client now thinks you're hackers”), and a 20 meant critical success (“The client hired you full-time and gave you cupcakes!”).
We kept it fast-paced, fun, and wildly unpredictable—with teamwork, troubleshooting, and plenty of laughter.
💌 What Students Had to Say
After the game, the students surprised us with dozens of hand-written thank-you notes, many with heartfelt messages, drawings of servers and laptops, and a lot of great humor. Some of our favorite quotes:
"Thank you to Scott for being funny… that really made my day. And thank you to Paul (he’s a good reader). You guys are funny." – Bridgitte
"I really enjoyed the game and you guys coming to Mattson… I want to thank you a second time!" – Raymond
"Thanks for letting us learn about you guys and your jobs. Because of you guys, I might become an IT worker!" – Tinsque T.
"Thanks for helping me learn how to get started into IT. I hope this reaches you!" – Anonymous Career Day card
"Thank you for being funny. I give you guys 5 stars!" – Anonymous
"I really enjoyed the AI-generated game to show what Fidelis does. It was creative, funny, and very relevant. It’s great that two of you are even former Mattson students." – Mike Cline (Teacher)
💬 Why It Matters
As Melissa said afterward:
“A thank you goes a long way, so for the kids to take time to write them means a lot.”
We couldn’t agree more. These moments remind us why education, mentorship, and community outreach are just as important as firewalls and fiber cables.
A huge thank-you to the staff and students at Mattson Middle School. You made our day just as much as we hope we made yours.
🖼️ Scroll through the photos to see just how thoughtful—and hilarious—these students can be. 👇
#CareerDay #FidelisInTheCommunity #FutureTechLeaders #FiHeart #MattsonMiddleSchool
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