Contributing writer

Courtesy of Steve Marcenik, five HITT Grant students from Michael Gordon’s CCNA class, toured Cisco facilities Wednesday April 2, 2014. Marcenik, a St. Petersburg College(SPC) Computer & Information Technology advisory committee member, cleared his calendar for two hours to educate students, staff, and faculty about Cisco products and IT profession insights. The tour began with self-introduction about how Marcenik acquired his position at Cisco. Marcenik conducted an informal Q&A session to encourage students to ask questions about Cisco products, the company and careers in information technology.

Students took advantage of the Q&A portion inquiring about what employers seek in entry-level IT candidates, how to obtain positions, what additional education Marcenik thought would be beneficial and specifics about Cisco products and services. Marcenik explained his belief that his MBA coupled with his technical background paved a solid path for his current position as Systems Engineer. With this tip, Marcenik advised that an MBA would assist a potential IT recruit with navigating the corporate environment.

The final tour segments showed students the latest networking equipment, including Cisco routers, and demoed the use of Cisco’s cutting-edge teleconferencing equipment. Marcenik wrapped up the tour with an open invitation for the students to network and ask questions. When interviewed, one excited student said of the tour “…enjoyed seeing how Cisco incorporated technical expertise with sales skills into providing customer solutions. It was a great example of how the IT field is built on people and technology. Ultimately, an IT solution or project should solve a problem or fulfill the need of a business organization or person.”

Please follow the link to view pictures of the CISCO Facilities Tour that took place.