I am currently in my last quarter at ITT Technical Institute. In the last quarter of every degree program there is an end-of-degree synthesis course called a Capstone Project. In my degree, Computer Network Systems, we are supposed to design a solution for a theoretical company. It requires you to use certain tools and to have created certain deliverables by the end of the 11 week class, culminating in a presentation in front of a group of professionals, the Program Chair of the degree, in addition to several people from the school’s Career Services department. I have heard that, in the past, students invite their parents to come and watch the presentations as well.

I will not jest too heavily when I say that in the past I have taken the majority of the course work lightly - I am a slacker at heart. However, this project allows the greatest degree of freedom in how to approach a problem that I have yet seen in my Associates program. In short, I am excited for this class, something I have not really felt about my academic journey for the last span of years.

Some of my team mates might take this project and view it as only something that must be done, a necessity; however, I view it as an opportunity to show people my skills and capabilities. The work on this project is not light; I intend to go above and beyond the requirements of the project so that when the time comes, there will be no question as to whether or not I have the know-how to design a network.

Over the course of the next few weeks I will no doubt be making a few posts regarding my experiences with my group and what challenges that I may face while working on the project. As this is the first week, I am not fully certain that the other four people in my group are on the same level of technical knowledge as I am, so during next week I will be showing them the Cisco Network Simulator, and designing the infrastructure for the network.

The road is long, but I am willing to put the best foot forward every time. Wish me luck.