Recently CCNA students for the Tampa Bay High-Tech Technology Program (HITT) at St. Petersburg College (SPC) were given the opportunity to tour the Tech Data facility. With the help of College-wide Internship Coordinator Susan Biszewski-Eber, Career Outreach Specialist Rosaria Pipitone, set up a tour of the Tech Data facility. The Vice President of Tech Data Services Bill Brooks also played an active role in reaching out to SPC since he had a “strong interest in partnering with a community college such as SPC.”

Pipetone along with Michael Gordon, CISCO Instructor at SPC, and the CCNA students were given a tour of the CISCO labs at Tech Data and had hands-on experience working with the equipment. They also had the opportunity to experience a simulated work environment where they were able to deal with customers over the phone. Students learned that they “don’t have to be locked into one area of technology, but there are a host of opportunities that Tech Data has to offer,” said Pipetone. In the end, there was a Question-and-Answer session with a former SPC student who now works for Tech Data.

Overall, Pipetone said that the experience was designed to “offer hope to those who are unemployed and open their perception to the working world.”