The rapid advancement and adoption of technology in all facets of modern life can be baffling and intimidating for greenhorn users. To battle that perception, Scotts Valley resident and tech support guru Doreen Lozano has begun offering classes to neophyte users of Apple’s popular iPad tablet to residents of Santa Cruz County.
“I’ve been in technical support my entire professional life,” said Lozano, a native of England and a 22-year resident of Santa Cruz County. “It’s always been my love.”
Lozano began her career in Santa Cruz in the 1990s working for SCO, a software company that specialized in UNIX. She worked her way up to director of tech support, a title she held until she took on a consultant role.
After retiring in 2007, she spent some time traveling before the technology bug bit her again, this time leading her to a job with the Apple Store in Los Gatos.
With Apple, she spent a few shifts working the Genius Bar, but her primary job was to sit down with first-time customers and give one-on-one training on how to use Apple products. That’s when she realized she was on to something.
“I really enjoyed working for Apple,” Lozano said. “I thought, ‘I shouldn’t have been in management, I should’ve been doing this.’”
Lozano spent 18 months working for Apple before leaving in February of this year, noting that her last day was the day the long-awaited iPhone for Verizon was released.
While she worked for Apple, one thing Lozano noted was the commute customers from Santa Cruz County had to make to get help with their Apple products.
It was all the motivation she needed to offer courses in Apple technology in her own community, offering her neighbors the advice of someone who knows the products inside and out.
“(At first), it was friends and friends of friends,” she said. “I was doing private lessons at people’s homes.”
With the rise of the iPhone and iPad, many people know only a fraction of what the devices are capable of.
“It’s so easy to use, but people are afraid of it,” Lozano said. “The big hurdle is the confidence to use it.”
In June, she set out to host a larger class, specifically focused on the iPad. Her first class has developed into one or two classes a month, taught in places like the Satellite Telework Centers in Felton and Scotts Valley and locations in Santa Cruz.
The classes generally have no more than 10 students, most of whom, Lozano said, are older or generally unfamiliar with computers.
“The big thing they learn is everything that their iPad can do,” she said. “You can’t break this thing by using it.”
She said that many times, people have entered her class having received an iPad as a gift, saying “I don’t know what this is, I don’t know why I need this.” They thank her profusely by the end, she said.
Students have formed iPad support groups after the classes end, too.
“We have cheese and wine and we talk about the different areas of iPads,” she said. “I really enjoy the classes. It’s rewarding and it’s fun — more fun than work.”
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At a glance
What: iPad classes with Doreen Lozano of Scotts Valley
Details: Lozano, a former Apple Store employee and tech support director, leads a class or two each month on the use of Apple products. Times and places vary throughout Santa Cruz County.
Info: Doreen Lozano, 588-9651 or do******@*ac.com
