Feb. 8, 2008

SCC STUDENTS PLACE IN TOP 10 OF WORLDWIDE
NETWORKING COMPETITION

Two St. Charles Community College students are among the top 10 in the world in networking and IT performance and understanding, based on the results of a recent competition administered by Cisco Networking Academy. 

Using knowledge from their SCC coursework, Frank Mounce, 52, of O’Fallon and Ted Davis, 41, of Wentzville, placed sixth and ninth, respectively, in a rigorous four-part networking skills challenge, Academy NetSpace. The online competition was open to students at any of Cisco’s more than 10,000 Networking Academy locations throughout the world.

SCC is recognized as one such Cisco Networking Academy.  Instructors at the college use the e-learning program in the classroom to teach students the fundamentals of networking, routing, and switching.  The training prepares students for industry Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) certifications.

The Academy NetSpace competition allowed students the opportunity to test their knowledge of the Cisco coursework against students at equivalent learning levels.

Mounce competed in CCNA I-II, the second of four levels, and Davis competed at the fourth and highest level, Advanced Networking.  Each had to progress through four increasingly difficult two-week phases that required completing questions that revolved around a real-world case study.  Students were eliminated at the end of each phase.  At the end of the fourth phase, only the top 10 performers from each level remained.

“It showed a lot of extra work and dedication from these students to remain competitive on the world stage, and it paid off,” said Mike Fuszner, associate professor of computer science and networking at SCC.

Davis said his motivation throughout the competition was the satisfaction of knowing he solved advanced real-world problems.  He said he felt confident and prepared because of the background he gained in his SCC coursework.

“The net academy program at SCC is very well put together and taught by very strong instructors,” he said. “They’re very good at teaching the students what they need to do.  The partner-in-education program SCC has with Cisco is extremely beneficial and is going to help students in the workplace.”

For Mounce, Academy NetSpace was as much a learning mechanism as it was a competition.

“At first I thought it was boring,” Mounce said.  “The more I got into it, I realized the more you answer the questions, the more you learn.  This is a unique and effective learning tool.”

Davis and Mounce’s strong showing in this worldwide competition is a testament to the quality of the networking program at SCC, Mounce said.

“Two people from the same school were in the top 10 in the whole world.  That tells you something about the teaching and the program,” he said.  “It’s phenomenal.”

Mounce and Davis were each awarded a prize package worth more than $300 which included a framed award, a Nintendo DS game system, a game for Nintendo DS, and their choice of one Cisco Press book.

For more information about computer networking programs at SCC, contact Fuszner at 636-922-8322 or
mfuszner@stchas.edu or Jim Elkins at 636-922-8207 or jelkins@stchas.edu.

Photos and Cutlines.

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Last Updated: 2/8/08