BURLINGTON, Conn. -- Jacob Komar, a businessman, set to graduate next year from the University of Hartford. He's 14.

Komar is attending high school and the university simultaneously.

"I would be a junior at the high school and I have enough credits that I'm a junior at the university as a computer engineer," Komar said.

Computers was in Komar's blood very early on.

"When I was 2, we had a DOS laptop and my mom could write down commands and how to load a program and I could just sit down and do that," he said.

Komar said that by the time he was 7 or 8, he was pulling apart machines with friends and putting them back together.

"I found out that my sister's elementary school in Burlington was throwing away computers," Komar said. "These machines were just too old."

Teen's Love For Computers Spawns Company

By the age of 9, Komar started a company called Computers for Communities "to bridge the digital divide in America. The digital divide is something that separates Americans every day in almost every way."

"I've been in the business for 28 years and I haven't seen anything like this before," Alan Hadad, who is the dean of the University of Hartford's College of Engineering.

Komar started fixing up old computers to get them in the hands of kids who needed them.

"I would do like two computers a week. After school, I'd go and go to their house, set up their computer, show the kid how to use it," Komar said.

Hundreds of computers later, Komar's efforts earned him a spot on a bag of Doritos, which comprised one of the rewards for winning what's known as The BR!CK Award in the community building category.

"The BR!CK Award is an award put out by Do Something, a nonprofit organization, and it's used to identify kids under the age of 25 who have done great things to help other people," Komar said.

Efforts Help Prisoners Become Productive

Komar now gets help from an unlikely source, prisoners at the Cheshire Correctional Institution.

"When I contacted Jacob, they had hundreds of computers that they were refurbishing," said Ken Cairns, a vocational instructor at the prison.

Cairns said the goal was to get the prisoners to learn hands-on how to repair computers.

"It was a win-win for both of us," he said.

"Normally, I'm just locked up in prison, but with this program, I'm able to actually influence something on the outside, I can touch the outside world," said James Pinder, a prisoner. "I'm relevant again."

Teen Helps Bridge Digital Divide

When Komar isn't at Cheshire, and everywhere else getting computers to those who need them, he's helping kids his own age through a program sponsored by the University of Hartford called the IT Community Support Project.

"We train young people in Hartford schools, seventh to 12th graders, in advanced IT skills, Web design, graphics, networking, computer architecture and communication," said Colleen Kruger, director of continuing education at the University of Hartford's Center for Professional Development.

More Information

Link: Computers for Communities | How You Can Help

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