Ecuador – Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral
Juan Moreno
Student Graduate
I have been interested in networking and Information Technology for a very long time. I felt curious about how devices such as switches and routers worked and what could cause the network to be slow, but I could not afford to take networking seminars because the price for these courses was so expensive. At Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral (ESPOL), a rumor began to spread around the University about the establishment of a Cisco Academy. In this Academy we were going to learn about the fabulous world of networking. In February 2002, after a long wait, the first program of the Cisco Networking Academy was opened. All of us who were interested signed up; we were very enthusiastic about gaining knowledge in networking to prepare for the CCNA certification.
I can personally say that since I have started studying in the ESPOL Cisco Academy, I have gained the necessary knowledge to be able to contribute my ideas at my job workplace. In March 2002 I was working at a pharmaceutical company. During my first semester in the Academy I had the opportunity to advise this company in structured cabling. This company was using category 4 cabling, they had no standard, used Hubs, and one of the major complaints from the users was the slowness of the network. After an extensive analysis, I considered that the best option was the complete re-cabling of the company. This work was done in one weekend to avoid interruptions in the development of the company’s daily work. A floor mounted rack was installed, with patch panels for 100 network points, the hubs were replaced with switches and the cabling was changed to a 5E category. It was a very exhausting job, but highly rewarding when, on the following Monday morning, the General Manager personally thanked me for the time that I took to help the company. Thanks to the knowledge learned in the following semesters of CCNA, such as LAN Switching, Cisco Routers Configuration, VLAN Benefits and Wan Technology, I am able to apply my best judgment when problems arise at work and I am able to find the possible solutions.
Studying at the ESPOL Cisco Academy has been a turning point in my career development. Not only did it give me valuable training, but it also gave me a chance to explore different networking concepts. All of this was possible thanks to the inspiration of Engineer Carlos Monsalve, Engineer Servio Lima, and the professors Albert Espinal and Hernán Córdova. I would especially like to thank Professor Espinal for all the support that he gave me and my class to successfully finish all four CCNA semesters.