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County Vocational-Technical School Students Sweep Cisco Networking Competition
Cisco Networking Academy Announces Winners of the First-Ever New Jersey NetRiders Competition
San Jose, Calif., June 2, 2009 - Cisco today announced the winners of
the first-ever New Jersey NetRiders Skills Competition, an interactive
three-part contest designed by the Cisco(r) Networking Academy(r) to
give New Jersey high school students the opportunity to showcase their
information technology and networking skills and to recognize excellence
among New Jersey Cisco Networking Academy students.
The top three finishing teams represented county vocational-technical schools.
The New Jersey NetRiders Competition involved more than 100 New Jersey
Cisco Networking Academy students, who competed in three rounds.
"It is an honor to attend this event with so many talented young people
demonstrating their networking skills," said Lucile Davy, the New Jersey
Commissioner of Education, who was present at the NetRiders competition
finals. "The development of technology skills will be essential for the
workforce of tomorrow. We are grateful to the Cisco Networking Academy
for their support of school district partnerships throughout the state."
The 2009 New Jersey NetRiders Competition Winners are:
1st-Place Winners:
Catherine Kersey and Michael Gonzalez, Morris County School of
Technology.
2nd-Place Winners:
Shayyan Arshad and Jane Malasig, Hudson County School of Technology.
3rd-Place Winners:
Jordan Strong and Steven Wooton, Gloucester County Institute of
Technology.
The Cisco Networking Academy is a global technology education program
that provides students with networking and technical skills to prepare
them for careers in the 21st century. Committed to delivering the
highest standard of information technology education to students of all
nationalities, genders and economic brackets, the program is designed to
offer students real-world skills that will position them for employment
and career growth. The New Jersey NetRiders Networking Skills
Competition helps to motivate New Jersey High School Students to follow
career paths with IT Education and Training.
The competition consists of three rounds:
Round One: Students competed in a virtual online exam qualifier, which
consisted of a theoretical exam of 60 questions to be completed in 35
minutes. The two students with the highest scores from each Cisco
Networking Academy advanced to round two.
Round Two: Student teams of two competed in the virtual team qualifier,
which consisted of a theoretical exam of 60 questions to be completed in
45 minutes and a Packet Tracer activity to be completed in 35 minutes.
The 10 teams with the highest scores advanced to the final round.
Final Round: Students competed on - site at Cisco's office in Iselin,
NJ in multiple competitions, including a theoretical exam, a Packet
Tracer activity, and a customer service activity. The first-, second-
and third-place teams were awarded prizes. Students present also
received a tour of the facility and witnessed Cisco's Telepresence
conferencing technology firsthand.
"We are extremely pleased to provide this opportunity to Networking
Academy students in New Jersey," said Rosanna Bisges, senior manager for
the Cisco Networking Academy in the U.S. and Canada. "It is very
exciting to watch these talented young people compete and demonstrate
their technology skills in a realistic work environment."
For more information about the Cisco Networking Academy, visit
http://www.cisco.com/go/netacad.