18
November
2020
|
16:57 PM
America/Chicago

Networking student plans career fast and early

Student of the Week: Rusty Dungan

“Give school more time. You shouldn't rush your education, and you should absolutely talk to your professors, especially when you don't know something. A lot of professors tend to care a lot more about the class than you'd think.”
Student of the Week Rusty Dungan

In pursuit of a career, Rusty Dungan believes that first devoting 100 percent towards an education should be the main goal as a student.

Rusty is working for his Associate of Applied Science-Network Specialist. The Networking Specialist and Network Systems associate degree has received a name upgrade and is now called Network Systems beginning fall 2020.

“It was close to home and didn't need me to take out a loan to pay for it. It also had the degrees that I wanted, so I knew very early in high school that STC was for me,” Rusty said. “It’s a great place, (and) I have absolutely no complaints. I think it's a great starting school especially for people who want to get things done like core classes or specializing in a trade.” 

Joining STC immediately after high school, Rusty says the goal now is to finish his associates here and get his certifications out of the way. As he has already gained job experience with Cisco, the plan is to return to college eventually when he is settled into his career, he said.

“Give school more time. You shouldn't rush your education, and you should absolutely talk to your professors, especially when you don't know something,” he said. “A lot of professors tend to care a lot more about the class than you'd think.”

The Associate of Applied Science in Network Systems enlists a number of Information Technology (IT) skills, business productivity software, and offers advanced experience in computer networking through the Cisco Networking Academy.

Upon completion of the program, students are able to design, quote, set up, maintain, manage, and upgrade a network. In addition to the networking skills, students also learn technical skills in operating systems, server administration, and information security, while also being exposed to the use of computer virtualization.

During the last semester, students are required to secure an internship within an IT department of a local company, which provides them with valuable industry experience.

As a message to students, Rusty says it’s important not to rush a college experience.

“Find out what you want to do as a job (and) work towards it as soon as you can, the earlier the better,” he said. “When I first got to Cisco 1, I already knew a decent amount about networking and how networks worked. During those times when no one knew what was going on, I got a deeper understanding of what my future career is about.

“I believe that giving 100 percent of your effort towards your goals is the best option, and it should be the same for any student just starting out in their first semester,” he said.