IT specialist Greg Thomas is known as Whitman’s go-to guy for all things technical. The Black & White takes a look at how he spends a typical day. 5:15 a.m. Computer specialist Greg Thomas is startled awake by the buzz of his alarm. Groggily, he hits the snooze button and falls back asleep. His radio alarm sounds again five minutes later, finally forcing him out of bed. He gets ready to begin his day as Whitman’s IT systems specialist responsible for 575 computers.

5: 30 a.m. Thomas rummages in his kitchen cabinets for the organic Whole Foods cereal he eats every morning, and prepares his coffee thermos. He goes through about four cups of coffee a day.

7 a.m. Thomas hops on his bright red Yamaha V-Star motorcycle and heads to school. The ride from his home in Silver Spring takes him approximately 30 minutes.

7:30 a.m. Thomas arrives at school and checks his email, which is flooded with requests for his assistance with various technological problems throughout the school. The security office alerts him to three students who have violated MCPS rules by hacking through the computer’s Internet filter, so he promptly emails the administration to alert them. Thomas encountered similar student misdemeanors last year, which led him to set up a system that reprimands offenders by suspending their network accounts.

8:30 a.m. He works on installing a new robotics device, which is used as a programming tool in the engineering department. Other long-term projects he works on include setting up Turnitin.com and incorporating substitute teachers into the staff database.

10:35 a.m. Thomas is called to duty by Spanish teacher Carol Gough-Alonso, whose computer locked her out of her account when she attempted to change her password.

11:35 a.m. He heads down to the cafeteria to pick up his lunch of vegetarian chicken nuggets, rice and fruit. He says he “leans towards vegetarianism” and refrains from eating meat many days of the week.

1:50 a.m. Thomas heads to the math department to pick up an extra cup of coffee since his thermos has run out. He’s planning on signing up for the school’s coffee service, which will personally deliver a steaming cup of coffee to him every morning.

2:10 p.m. He skips the staff meeting, but does nab some of the turkey feast the PTA provided.

4 p.m. Thomas jumps back on his motorcycle and heads home. Twice a week, he goes straight from school to the Bally’s gym in Rockville, where he uses the weight machines.

6 p.m. Thomas arrives home. On Thursdays, he typically gets ready for his weekend trip to his cabin in the Shenandoah Mountains, since he often takes Fridays off. Thomas builds cabins in his spare time and is currently building one in the Shenandoahs that he hopes will be his retirement home.

7:30 p.m. Thomas tunes into the Discovery Channel and watches his favorite nature specials.

11 p.m. He climbs into bed, ready for a good night’s sleep after a long day.