Former Newtown Middle School tech support specialist Bruce Moulthrop reflects on retiring this year and how technology, along with how it is used in schools, has changed over his 24-year tenure.

Moulthrop did not start out in the tech field; he is actually a retired chef who graduated from Culinary Institute of America in 1970 when it was still located in New Haven, Connecticut. He worked in the culinary field for 30 years, doing seasonal work as a chef at resorts before settling into the nursing home industry as a director of food services.

He left the culinary field in 2000 and took a hiatus from working altogether. That changed in 2001, when his son was an eighth grader at NMS.

Moulthrop asked his son to put in his name as a parent volunteer because, over the years of living in Newtown, he heard that many people become volunteers and eventually get jobs based on their volunteering experience.

Moulthrop’s son submitted his name, and it did not take long before Moulthrop got a call from his son’s homeroom teacher asking for help. She asked if he knew anything about computers and Moulthrop, having experience with them from working in food service, said he did.

Everything that followed happened quickly: Moulthrop got a call on Monday, walked in with his resume on Tuesday, interviewed on Thursday, and was hired on Friday.

“It went so fast, they never had time to officially post the job offer,” Moulthrop said.

Newtown Public Schools has a district tech department, which handles complicated and challenging technological issues. Moulthrop’s job as a tech support specialist was to take care of lesser, but still important, technological tasks at NMS.

He would help teachers when they had issues with their desktop computers or when the bulbs stopped working for their overhead ceiling mounted projectors. If Moulthrop could not resolve the issue, then he would put a work order in for the district tech department to come out and take care of it.

He also kept inventories of all the equipment in the building. Every last desktop computer, ceiling mounted projector, or hover cam — a special type of camera used to project documents onto a SMART Board.

“I mean, the tech department had their own inventories, but I always had my own personal inventory so I could keep track of everything in the building,” Moulthrop explained. “SMART Boards, projectors, computers — I would be the first line of defense to troubleshoot any issues.”

Moulthrop also handled any and all reservations for the computer labs. In the early days, Moulthrop said reservations were entirely done on paper. He would create a schedule for the following week and put it in every teacher’s mailbox so they could easily get back to him.

Supporting The Community

He later got involved with NMS beyond tech support. Moulthrop was a co-advisor of the school’s ski club from 2005 until he retired earlier this year. He used to be a skier himself, but had to stop after developing a neurological disorder. Even still, Moulthrop remained involved with the club and helped plan trips for everyone.

From 2007-2014, Moulthrop was an advisor of the school’s Interact Club, which encouraged students to become active members of the community. The group held numerous fundraisers supporting various needs and causes, and volunteered at local events such as Newtown Rotary Club’s annual pancake breakfast.

One of the greatest things Moulthrop said he did was help arrange a Christmas tree fundraising sale to raise money for NMS and Reed Intermediate School’s Interact Club. The tall trees did not sell well, so Sandy Hook Firehouse, which did not get many tall trees from their annual shipment, paid for the leftover tall trees.

Moulthrop said these funds helped the club continue for several years afterwards, and that it holds a special place in his heart because of that.

This is far from the first time Moulthrop has done community service. He describes himself as someone who “got involved in all kinds of things.” From the early days Moulthrop was at his church, he and his late wife were always involved with the fundraisers there.

“It was just in my blood to do that sort of thing,” Moulthrop said.

Moulthrop never expected to get involved with NMS beyond his job, nor did he expect to work there for 24 years. However, Moulthrop stayed for as long as he did because he truly liked what he did.

“That wasn’t my original plan, but it just evolved over time,” Moulthrop said. “I always liked the job. That’s why I stayed so long.”

Changes

For Moulthrop, staying at NMS did not come without witnessing numerous technological changes over the years. He saw NMS go from having one computer lab filled with iMacs to eventually having four different computer labs throughout the building.

No matter how long ago certain changes were made, Moulthrop could still rattle them off years later.

Moulthrop thanked Nelson Santos, one of the main tech personnel from the Newtown Public School’s tech department, for teaching him a lot over the years. He said Santos had a great personality and was always patient with him, even when technology could be a little aggravating sometimes.

To Moulthrop, working as tech support at the middle school kept him knowledgeable and in tune with technology even as it changed over the years.

“That general knowledge of technology really helps me at home, especially when I’m using my laptop or cell phone,” Moulthrop said.

Moulthrop even emailed all his NMS coworkers a history of the evolution of technology from 2001 to his leaving. He said this synopsis parallels everything he learned and worked on throughout his years at the middle school.

As for why he’s retiring now, Moulthrop said it “felt like the right time” to proverbially ride off into the sunset, no different than the classic Westerns he grew up with.

He quoted a turn of phrase his mother always said: “life’s a cycle.” Moulthrop plans to continue his community service efforts by volunteering at FAITH Food Pantry, in addition to attending meetings at local Freemasonry group Hiram Lodge #18. He also hopes to visit his grandchildren more often, who are spread out throughout the country.

“And having done so much with it when it was at my church, now I’m gonna go back and volunteer again,” Moulthrop said.

Another goal of his is to eventually hold an estate sale. Moulthrop said there is a bedroom in his house with four shelves on three walls filled to the brim with cookbooks. His wife, who Moulthrop said could bake up a storm, absolutely loved to collect cookbooks — so much so that Moulthrop estimates he has around 400 of them.

Moulthrop said he plans to visit NMS periodically, and that he really enjoyed being a part of the school’s community.

One example of this, Moulthrop said, is how invested he got into the staff’s annual Ugly Sweater Day. It got to the point where Moulthrop decided to take his family’s old electric cart to school and embellish it and his appearance.

He would wear more than just an ugly sweater, he would put on a funny hat, a red beard, gloves, and decorate his scooter with Christmas lights. Moulthrop would then roam the halls on his signature scooter, with a wireless speaker blaring Christmas music to entertain the students and staff.

For his last day on June 16, Moulthrop warned NMS Principal Jim Ross that he was “gonna go out with a bang.” This time, he dressed up to celebrate the summer season with rock and roll music blaring from his speaker as he drove around the school.

Moulthrop smiled as he flipped through his photos, excited for the future but never forgetting the joy his old job brought him.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.