Cisco Networking Technology Graduate

Earles installs a new hard disk.

He knew he wanted to work in the technology field, but didn’t know where to start. That’s why William Earles enrolled in Yavapai College’s Cisco certification program.

Though his initial goal was to earn the certificate and seek employment in an IT-related field, a visit with Liz Winney from Counseling and Advising convinced him to work towards an associate degree.

While working towards his degree and certificate, Earles’ hard work and intelligence caught the eye of faculty within the Cisco program, and he soon had a job as a student employee with the Yavapai College ITS department.

As a student employee, Earles was responsible for installing, configuring and maintaining network switches – the core of YC’s technical infrastructure. Assistant Director of ITS, Melanie Pieper, had this to say about Earles and the other student employees within ITS: “We make a practice of hiring talented students to give them an opportunity for hands-on technical experience whenever we have openings available. William showed promise as a student employee and has developed beyond anyone’s expectations in his current full-time role as a Systems Administrator.”

William is nearing completion of his undergraduate degree requirements for two different associate degrees here at YC and is now enrolled with YC’s partner Old Dominion University working on his bachelor degree.

William has been employed with Yavapai College now for nearly three years and has become even more integral to the department – he is currently responsible for email services, file storage and retention, data backup and restoration, and server hardware. Looking back on his first semester at YC, Earles never thought he would be designing and supporting the same technologies that he learned about as a student:

“The IT field has been good to me, and the experience I gained at Yavapai College in general and technical education was invaluable in preparing me for the career I have now.”

To learn more about the programs, degrees, and technologies discussed in this story, please click on the relevant links:

Associate of Business Degree
Associate of Applied Science in Computer Systems and Applications Degree
Cisco Technology Certificate Program
Information Technology Services Department
Old Dominion University (ODU) / Bachelor Degrees
Register for a YC Class Online