Henry Jones: Continuing his internship at SOFTWarfare, a local computer software and cybersecurity

Then-10-year-old Henry Jones slammed his Wii remote against the TV — Super Mario Bros. glitched and he’d lost. Again. As he peered underneath the now-cracked plastic Wii remote, he discovered what could be the issue — a layer of rust on the motherboard. It must’ve been a glitch. With nothing more than a flathead screwdriver and a guess at the possible problem, he chipped away to unblock the circuitry, and sure enough: the Wii flickered back on.

“That was the point in my head when it clicked that all of these pieces of technology, despite being developed by [people] in Japan, people could figure [them] out with enough time and dedication,” Henry said. “If I could stumble upon a fix with a flathead screwdriver and a complete lack of self-safety, surely if I spent more time on it, I could continue.”

Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of 5, Henry has experienced hyperfixations — an intense state of concentration and focus — throughout his life, whether it was wall-high drawers of color-coordinated Legos or reconfiguring his Nerf guns to triple their original power. The one commonality among the fixations, however, has been his knack for working with his hands and looking into the hardware behind every piece of technology he can find. Recently, he decided to capitalize on this natural ability by building commissioned PCs, something that’s already earned him over $5,000.

College was once a potential next step for Henry, until he heard about the intern developer position at SOFTWarfare, a local software engineering company with a focus on cybersecurity — he knew it was the perfect fit. By second semester, he was set up with Shawnee Mission School District’s work experience program which now allows him to leave school every day at 1 p.m. for his internship just down the street where he works until 5 p.m. 

“[Henry] finds something that’s very niche and dives into the rabbit hole headfirst,” junior and co-intern Charlie Moren said, who’s witnessed Henry’s passion for everything computer engineering-related firsthand. 

Once he graduates, Henry will work for SOFTWarfare full-time, then complete a two-year web development training along with four Information Technology certifications, a process that normally takes eight years of field experience. And from there, Henry plans to continue working his way up the computer software industry. In his time at SOFTWarfare, he’s already made connections through his boss with the founder of Google Maps and creator of PokémonGo. With his career path basically guaranteed, Henry is confident in his choice. 

“My ultimate goal is to just find a job that gives me enough money to have an apartment that I’d like to furnish with all of the Smart Home features that I’ve dreamed of,” Henry said. “I always say that it’s a joke, but my retirement plan for when I turn 60 is to plant an EMP bomb in every major internet center that doesn’t kill a single person but just like [that]: Internet’s out. Fresh Start.”