Feature Story

September 10, 2007

By Jenny Carless, News@Cisco

When it comes to finding the most talented employees, June Songy and Dane Conrad know a good thing when they see it.

The Cisco 21st Century Schools (21S) Initiative recently placed two networking interns in their Mississippi school districts, and Songy and Conrad were so impressed, they just couldn't let the interns (Peyton Gwinn and Travis Morie, respectively) go: both young men were hired as full-time employees at the end of their internships.

Gwinn and Morie are among seven young men and women who have been hard at work as 21S networking interns in Hurricane Katrina-affected school districts throughout Mississippi and Louisiana for the past year. They've helped the schools, improved their own skills and are providing the critical sustainability the program needs as it moves forward.

That interns are being hired as full-time employees is concrete evidence of the program's great success, both for the young people and their host school districts.

Network Interns and Connected Schools

The Cisco 21S Initiative is built on three foundational principles: Connected Schools, Connected Learning and Connected Communities.

Connected Schools focuses on establishing a baseline technology platform in the schools. A safe, secure and resilient technology platform can help connect all school facilities in a secure and manageable manner, support administrative and teacher effectiveness, and help enable a student-centered learning platform.

Networking interns are playing an important role in creating that vision throughout 21S schools in the affected region.

Cisco and Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT), a Canadian nonprofit organization, established the 21S Intern program to help ensure the sustainability of the 21S programs. Two types of intern - "Teach Up" interns, who work in the classroom helping teachers work with technology, and the networking interns - undergo a period of training and then spend ten months in a 21S school. The idea is to help the schools get the most out of the networks and educational technology they are receiving via the 21S Initiative. During the 2006/07 school year there were 49 interns - including both Teach Up and network programs - throughout 21S schools in Louisiana and Mississippi.

"There's no way to place a value on what the network interns have provided for us," said Dane Conrad, technology coordinator for Forrest County Public Schools. "This has been the perfect aid in preparing for and implementing everything Cisco is providing for us. I don't think we could have done it without the interns."

"We are donating millions of dollars' worth of equipment through the 21S Initiative, so the program's long-term sustainability is critical," explained Greg Mintel, a Cisco 21S Fellow and project lead for Connected Schools. "So for us to be able to bring network interns in, train them - and then see them get hired, that's the best thing that could happen."

The program's benefits reach far beyond the interns and schools, also - to local businesses, for example.

"It's easy to see how the students and schools benefit, but what's perhaps less obvious - yet equally important - is that we are developing a local skilled workforce for regional employers," says Nuria Arias, program director, DOT Mississippi and Louisiana. "By working to see that the broader community gains from this program, we are helping ensure that it will sustain itself in the long run."

Travis Morie at Forrest County Public Schools

Travis Morie graduated with honors in information technology from the University of Southern Mississippi in May 2006 and began his internship with Forrest County Public Schools the following month. He interned under Conrad's supervision, helping in both the Hattiesburg and Forrest County Agricultural High School Districts.

Forrest County encompasses six school sites, from kindergarten through high school, with 2,500 students and 250 staff.

"Travis helped organize and inventory the new equipment as it arrived, re-cable the network in a school with new construction and implement new switching at the district office," Conrad described. "He even helped us troubleshoot some switching issues and add/edit phone settings for the secretarial staff on our IP (Internet protocol) telephones."

"He worked shoulder to shoulder with my staff," Conrad added. "Not only was it helpful just to have another pair of hands, but Travis helped our overall efficiency. Because he went through the Cisco training, he was another resource I could call on to help with Cisco CallManager, for example, and other technologies."

From Morie's point of view, the internship was a great experience. "I gained a lot of confidence in my ability to learn new things and to set up networks of this magnitude successfully," he said.

"The internship was fun," he added. "I really enjoyed meeting all the different people and developing new skills."

In fact, his new skills were a key part in what helped him obtain the full-time job with Forrest County Public Schools.

"I had the opportunity to learn all the different equipment and tools - including the Cisco Network Assistant, Cisco security applications and wireless access," he explained.

When, toward the end of his internship, the district needed a full-time technician, Morie was an obvious candidate, according to Conrad.

"Beyond his above-average technical skills, I'd seen Travis work with location principals. I liked the way he interacted with them," he explained. "I knew he was an invaluable resource that we couldn't afford to lose."

"As the network is installed, I'll do more work supporting the overall district network," Morie said of his new responsibilities. "In addition, there are six schools in the district; now I'll be the technical representative for two of those."

Morie is excited about his new position. "I'm looking forward to getting this whole Cisco implementation complete," he said. "I like to get jobs done once I start them."

Peyton Gwinn at Lamar County Schools

After high school, Peyton Gwinn joined the U.S. Navy, where he served as an interior communication electrician for six years. He then obtained a degree in information technology from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Upon graduation, and just prior to taking on the Cisco/DOT internship, he volunteered along the U.S. Gulf Coast as a technician for a company that provides free wireless Internet access to Katrina-related volunteers.

Gwinn's internship was with Lamar County School District, where he worked under the supervision of June Songy, director of Technology. Lamar County has 7,800 students and encompasses 13 regular schools, an alternative school and a technical center.

"Peyton's main role was to support the work the Cisco folks and our network team were doing in planning and implementing the infrastructure for the Cisco project," Songy explained. "He surveyed what we had, and then when it came to actually putting out the Cisco switches, he did a lot of the configuration."

"He attended the training Cisco provided for our network technicians, so while they were busy with the day-to-day district work, Peyton often concentrated on the Cisco implementation," she continued. "From that standpoint, it was a tremendous benefit, because we had an extra, very qualified, pair of hands. If we hadn't had Peyton, the whole process of installing our new Cisco network would have taken considerably longer."

Gwinn particularly enjoyed the training he received. "At USM, the information technology program included the Cisco Networking Academy Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) curriculum," he said. "But with the internship I was exposed to even more - such as the expanding world of Voice over IP (VoIP) and wireless."

He also gained real-world perspective. "When I first came into networking, I didn't think about how school systems are so dependent on their networks," he acknowledged. "Now I see how much technology has been integrated into schools and how much they can do with it."

When one of Songy's staff resigned, Gwinn took the opportunity to ask if he could apply for the position. Songy was thrilled to be able to keep him as part of the team.

"Peyton has what I cherish in employees - a real can-do attitude. He is always looking ahead at what may be potential pitfalls, but he doesn't see them as road blocks; he's very solution-oriented," said Songy. "When we were in a crunch at one stage, he offered to work a couple of Saturdays, just to make sure we met our deadline."

Gwinn is pleased to get to see the project through, now that he is on board permanently.

"Once we get the network settled down, I'm looking forward to really working with it," Gwinn said. "I want to get out and see how the teachers and students are using it, find out what they like and don't like so that, to the best of our capabilities, we can maximize how they can use it."

Peyton Gwinn and Travis Morie are representative of many other interns who have helped schools in the U.S. Gulf Coast as they struggle to recover from hurricane damage.

"I've had very positive feedback about the incredible impact all our interns have made in these schools," said Mintel.

"Both Travis and Peyton are gems. I'm thrilled that they are working in the school districts now, and I hope that soon other interns will be hired, as well," he continued. "Working together, the schools, the interns, DOT and Cisco are making some great things happen."

The school representatives are the first to agree.

"All in all, this experience has been a tremendous lesson to all of us," Songy stated. "It came out of adversity, with the aftermath of Katrina - and it has turned into a tremendous blessing."

Jenny Carless is a freelance writer based in Santa Cruz, CA.