In the modern age there is one constant. Change. In a short span of time that I have been on this world I have witnessed a great many things. The rise of the Information age and how the human race has embraced the internet. Personal devices do more to connect us to loved ones and friends, deliver breaking news in our hands, and content on demand. Seeing social networks come and flourish and become an important part of peoples lives in our societies is something one could only of dreamed of 10 years ago.

What drives change? Change can be brought on by a number of things. Human nature suggests we do not like change that it makes people uncomfortable, I believe that is wrong. Change, if you believe the movies, is what led Mark Zuckerberg to create Facemesh/book. Change, of our love for technology, drove development of IPv6 to transition away from the depleting IPv4 pool. Change, in my opinion, is fed by knowledge. Change has delivered us things we take for granted today and Change is a beast that always eats and never sleeps.

The quest for bettering oneself is a journey of change that most of us undertake. There are many reasons why we do this from personal ambitions to career aspirations. Those who have entered the Cisco world know this. More true, those who aim for CCIE status. To succeed in the world of Cisco one must not only live it. The need to live, breath and dream it. The path of Cisco Certification is requires dedication, love, passion and a desire for knowledge.

The knowledge that we gain from our fields help us help others around us. We inspire those around us, we foster new ideas, new concepts. We are all learners and teachers. The knowledge we impart on others can be the spark than inspires change.

In an industry that is ever evolving one must stay up with trends. The shift from PBX to Digital comms. Securing our borderless networks. Work offices anywhere there is a mobile device. I believe this scholarship gives the opportunity for someone to acquire breadth in our skill sets. When building a network, what is the point of making a brilliantly redundant network without security considerations than could compromise it from day 1? You could build a campus voice network second to none only to realise you haven't considered your inter-campus wan links to carry calls?

This is where I believe CCNA Specialist certification holds it value. We all need routing and switching. It is the base that holds it together. It is the backbone of it all. It's how our information gets there. The CCNA Specialist exams allow further understanding of how our networks can be used to transport various types of traffic. Acquiring knowledge in a specialist area allows for a further understanding that will improve core skills in R&S and give the application something that distinguishes them from others. The more knowledge you gain, the more you learn, the more you impart on others and changes start to happen.

This ripple effect spreads and sparks ideas in others. When I think of Specialisation I don't think of being trapped into a corner, defined to one role, I see it as an opportunity to dive into the ocean. The more I swim, the more I realise that I am in the same ocean as R&S, Sec, Voice, SP and Wireless. I am diving in to this ocean, this vast mass of knowledge, the endless sea of change and I hope to see peers from all walks of life dive in.

I believe I have what it takes to drive change and inspire others and accept the challenge laid before me.

I want to leave you with two quotes from a book I read many moons ago.

Change is not merely necessary to life - it is life.
Alvin Toffler

Technology feeds on itself. Technology makes more technology possible.
Alvin Toffler

Thank you for reading, I have not written anything essay like since year 12. Now, A little about me.

I am Anthony. I live in Melbourne, Australia. I am a 23 year old who has his CCNA. After sitting the net academy I then pursued my CCNA (12 months later) and achieved that in December. I work for a Company in Melbourne and enjoy all aspects of my IT job. I do have aims for the top. I aim to get my CCIE within 5 years. I have an insatiable appetite for all things networking. I love this forum and it is a second home to me.

Its good to be passionate about something, but what a tremendous gift to be good at it. If you are really lucky you will make it your career in life. Those who benefit enough to possess these three are very fortunate ones indeed.

This is my dream: that something I am good at and enjoy will be my profession in life to help others with. My first Cisco router was a challenge, but a challenge that i enjoyed. I liken someone favoring networking to a basket ball player striving to achieve the finals in the NBA. Or a Maestro composing his final symphony for the opera. Likewise techies strive for their CCNA, and finally a job.

There is nothing in my life that I would like to do more then configure routers, and i do. I spend most of my time configuring my router for all type of things. But not only that, there is some great satisfaction in figuring out a complex and genius design.

The macrocosm is in the microcosm and vise verse. My theory is that all life has a soul and that soul is likened to a packet of information, carrying with it its karma that that tells it where to go, where it came from, and what it's going to do.

Life in unique in that the infrastructure of this universe- no, this creation- has many layers to it. As the soul ascends though the different spiritual planes the different coverings of it are peeled away.Not unlike that of an onion, and much like that of a electronic packet being striped to find the different stratum it is composed of.

Where there is a will there is a way. My desire lies in Cisco.


Jeremy Brown

The increased efficiency of packet networks and the ability to statistically multiplex voice traffic with data packets allow companies to maximise their return on investment in data network infrastructure.I am CCNA certified currently doing CCNP routing and switching ,i would like to specialise on voice but i did not have the funds to do it so that i can full fill my career prospects as a voice engineer .So i have to acquire this offer.

As the demand for voice services in the IP network expands,it is important to understand the components and functionality that must be present for a succesful implemantation therefore CCNA VOICE certification will help me understand and evaluate how several tools and protocols carry voice in data networks.

Companies are trying to maximise their return on investments by decreasing the cost and an increase in the availability of differentiating services hence voice certification will help me as an engineer to mastermind these objectives.As the world is moving towards green technology,voice technology is one of the tools to be used to achieve this because:(1) There will be less pollution,reduced cost-without the need for additional space energy cost maybe kept to a minimum,less energy is wasted in getting employees to and from office,reducing the need for gas (fuel) and lowering emmisions therefore company bills on air and conditioning are kept low .(2)Less travelling-no travelling to and from an office saves commute time,increase efficiency of management and quicker decision making irregardless of locations by use of teleconferencing services.This saves our depleting ozone layer.(3)No need for office space -with VOIP phone system business today can exist virtually without having a physical location and the space might be used for other human needs like agriculture and housing.(4)Remote workers-VOIP phones allow a reliable communication medium that keep employees in touch and available from anywhere there is an inherent connection.(5)I am getting more job alerts on voice engineering jobs ,i believe with CCNA voice i will be able to secure one because it is the minimum requirements for these jobs.

With all these in mind,VOIP technology requires effective monitoring ,management of employees and the VOIP system.Technical problems arise and clarity reliabilty can be an issue therefore qualified personnel are needed within an organisation.I believe CCNA VOICE certification will help achieving these goals and this scholarship will help me to a greater extent

Over the last two weeks I’ve asked myself many questions in regards to whether or not I should apply for the CCNA Specialty Scholarship. Some minute and trivial, but others heavy on my heart. For the past few days I’ve been contemplating with my wife about the pendulum of morality vs. self preservation.

On one end of the pendulum I’ve been weighing my moral and deontological obligations towards helping others peruse their goals and the desire I have to give whole heartedly to a community that gives more than receives. I want to give to those in need of help and inspirations, my patience and knowledge where possible. It is the type of support we all have needed to grow as individuals, and succeed as professionals. Where many would turn their heads, this forum reaches out and embraces diversity and multinationalism to form a true community. Having the strength in myself not to give way to temptations and allowing others to experience this truly amazing opportunity and be a contributing part of this community has been the overpowering, and until recently unanswerable rebuttal to my moral pendulum.

On the other side of this moral debate rests the desire to seize this opportunity. To have the world’s branches of higher education and expertise intertwine together and stand behind me once again, encouraging me to not give up on my goals, to dig deep and pursue the passions of higher education and the dreams of one day becoming an IT professional.Many thoughts have cascaded through my mind this week most of which have been substantially overpowering in their persuasion. Do I deserve the chance to do this again? Have I earned the right to apply for the scholarship? Should I help contribute to anothers dream? Is applying fair to the other applicants? To be honest, the majority of these questions have fallen squarely into the category of why I shouldn’t be applying. But by far the most profound question of all has been, “Don’t I want to be a leader? Don’t I want to be a part of something greater then myself, to teach and help others?”

Somewhere within the last few hours I’ve battled through the overpowering number of questions that have enveloped me since the announcement of this Scholarship. If I desire to be both a leader and a teacher I must first have the experience of being lead and taught. I also must prove to myself that I am capable of learning what isn’t clearly visible and prepare for the unknowns in life. Only through preparation, time, and experience will I become knowledgeable enough to be ready for what awaits me. I can’t expect to lead without first traveling the unknown, gaining the work experience necessary to call myself a true professional. I can only lay faith into knowing that my time will come to do something great, to be a guiding and glimmering star in someone else profession, and to be the teacher and mentor that many of you have been to me.

I desire to earn this CCNA Specialty Scholarship because I want to work with Cisco products every day. I would like to gain the knowledge to obtain the professional level of expertise required to be the right candidate for any employer who sees the glowing passion I have in my eyes that you all have seen in me. I wish to earn this CCNA Specialty Scholarship in hopes to impress those who give me a chance, and prove to myself that I can do it. I want to earn this CCNA Specialty Scholarship because I want to be proud of myself no matter what the outcome.

After several months of job searching with a freshly obtained CCNA, I’ve learned that without further education and a diversified level of competency in the IT field, the chances of employment are slim and the quality of jobs in the field are even slimmer. I’m not afraid of working my way up through entry level desktop support positions or venturing into areas of technology that I’m not overly interested in. It is all part of becoming a more well rounded individual and proving to my employers why I’m the best choice they will ever make. What I am afraid of is this. If I don’t continue my motivation and education to be the best I can be through never giving up on my dreams and studying hard, I’ll wake up one morning knowing the reason I never made it was because I didn’t try hard enough, because I didn’t want it bad enough, but most of all because I didn’t take the opportunities I had when I had them.

It’s one thing to be let down and blame things on poor circumstances, but it’s an entirely different thing to believe that you’ve done your best and blame it on other people when you haven’t. Everyone who has ever failed and learned from their mistakes will tell us that victory is in the details, not the outcome. Winning is practicing our faults and not giving into defeat. Not believing that we are capable of greatness is the single worst mistake we can make.

I believe that I would be a great candidate for this scholarship because I know I have the qualities that are required to make myself great. I have the desire to learn even though I know I will make mistakes along the way. Publically and privately I do so without the fear of rejection and ridicule. I know that it takes time and patience to let hope grow and only a single drop of luck to make my career rise up through the soil of my previous life towards a world of prominence. I believe I have the necessary skills to make this Scholarship successful and would love the opportunity to further my education publically. And one day, with any luck, I will become the teacher and mentor that many of you have inspired me to be.

With this, I formally submit my application for the CCNA Specialty Scholarship.

Scott See

Essay for Entrance into the CCNA Specialization Scholarship
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When I was a young child, I took apart light switches and doorbells because I wanted to know how they worked. At age 9, I tried to build an airplane (out of wood, PVC pipes, tomato cages, and sheets painted with paper glue) because I thought it would help me be free. Free to explore and discover things in a new and different way. As a teenager, several years ago, I began to work with computers because they represented an exciting way to communicate and solve problems.

One day when I was 15, A Dell computer technician told me how to start down the path of becoming an IT Professional: “Start studying A+. Diligently apply yourself and you will go places.” I realized that in order to be free, you have to take responsibility for yourself and diligently work toward worthy goals. I took the technician’s advice, and at 16, I became A+ certified. Some months later, I observed a friend typing commands to a flat, black box. The elegance of the IOS command line and the ability to facilitate communication fascinated me. I began studying the CCNA certification.

Doing high school, taking college courses, working in our family house cleaning business that helps to support us, and studying CCNA was somewhat of a juggling act. However, I found creative ways to practice and study. And practice I did. My friends and I put in hours working on our 25 and 26 hundred series routers. Typing away at my terminal, I worked to create monstrous topologies that looked like they were some sort of simplified diagram from chaos theory. After months of study, primarily using Odom’s books, and many scores of hours of practice, I felt I was ready.

Several months later, I had already passed ICND1 and was now staring at the Pearson VUE testing center screen and about to click to end the ICND2 exam. It had been a challenging test, but I was confident my best had been done. After a deep breath, I clicked end, and saw that I had passed! The thorough work, hard studying, and much practice had been worth it. Though the CCNA certification is not the hardest or even one of the harder tasks necessary in the path to become an IT professional, it isn’t easy either. I felt happy that I was able to set a goal, work diligently and creatively toward it, and then meet it. Completing my CCNA had been a challenge that helped me to grow.

Immediately, I found ways to apply the knowledge that I had learned. Soon I was setting up networks for small businesses and learning how to run my own business. Recently, more and more of my work has related to security. When I saw Steve’s announcement, I knew it was time for another challenge.

My name is David Aguilar. I am applying for the CCNA specialization scholarship because it is my goal to one day become an IT professional. Someone who excels at what he does. Ultimately, I would like to help others and change things for good. I see opportunities like this as open doors, paths to take that will help you grow. Thank you, Steve, and everyone else for this opportunity.

Notes: I am 17 years old and live in the state of South Carolina with my Mother and five siblings.
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My name is Binyam Tekalign. I am Ethiopian and I’m 23 years old. I graduated from Jimma University in Computer Science Department. I also got my CCNA and IT essential certificate there.
I am now working in Debre Berhan University as instructor. While I was in jimma University I practiced on real cisco’s switches and routers and also in packet tracer. Now I am practicing in cisco’s packet tracer (5.31) and teaching my students. And also I designed the network plan of Debre Berhan University & if God says, I will be the person who going to configure the switches (4500-E) when they come here soon.

Lastly, I have a dream to open CISCO’s Academy. So I want to have more knowledge especially in CCNA Security and CCNA Wireless. If you give me this opportunity, I am very sure that, I will pass the exam (if there is) and it will be very helpful for me and for my country.
One last word, Networking is just my life.