The Newport Cisco Network Academy provided opportunities for applying the computer networking and IT skills learned in the classroom. As part of the Computers For The World annual project of the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club, we refurbished donated laptops, routers, access points, switches, etc., traveled to the island of Antigua, assessed existing installations and environment, installed and configured network equipment, and documented our findings and work.
The 2020 mission (trip taken prior to March 2020) consisted of a team of 20+ students refurbishing nearly a thousand laptops and 200 pieces of networking equipment.
We shipped an entire container's (1 TEU) worth of networking equipment, computers, printers, projectors, sewing machines, and other miscellaneous materials. The bulk of computer equipment were graciously donated by the Bellevue Schools Foundation (Bellevue, Wash.) and Fluke Corp. (Everett, Wash.).
This was an extremely fast-paced project, a group of 14 students (incl. myself) and a handful of industry professionals were able to perform on-site design and deployment at 20 schools over the course of 10 workdays.
Increasing connectivity, especially in geographically-challenged areas, opens new opportunities and lowers the cost to education. This was a fulfilling trip as it allowed me to apply what I learned in the classroom, travel and explore a different culture and environment, and do charity work.
My teammates:
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Alexander
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Andrea
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Anush
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Callahan
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Claire
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Enoch
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Ethan
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John
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Lulu
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Rudy
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Serina
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Syrus
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Tucker
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