University Of Alaska Anchorage: A Little Networking Goes A Long Way

Press release from the University of Alaska Anchorage:

November 3, 2021

 It will be a hectic couple of weeks for Hunter Crace, a recent UAA A.A.S. computer
and networking technology graduate. The Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD) recently
received a shipment of 800 boxes of around 5,600 iPads and laptops to be distributed
to students throughout the communities it serves. Crace and his coworker are tasked
with the  unpacking, setup and installation of software and the distribution of devices
to students in the 23 or so communities the LKSD serves

Crace was hired by LKSD earlier this summer and feels fortunate for the opportunity
to not only land a job in his field but to start his professional career in his hometown.
Growing up in Napiak, a village of about 350 people 10 miles southwest of Bethel,
Crace was not used to big crowds, but his family moved to Bethel in eighth grade.
Going from a small village with his classmates totaling 10 to a group of nearly 30
teens his same age was a bit of a shock, but it prepared him for leaving Bethel and
heading to Anchorage to attend UAA.

“It was a bit of a shock for me,” said Crace. “I didn’t realize how small things were
for me when I was a kid.”

Crace spent his first year-and-a-half at UAA taking general courses while trying to
pinpoint what he wanted to focus his studies on. While he’d always had an interest
in information technology (IT), he was also considering learning how to be a chiropractor.
What ultimately tipped the scale in his decision? His grandma.

“I was just trying things out, I was like maybe I'd like this, or maybe I'd like that,”
said Crace. “I was going back and forth between technology and maybe being a chiropractor,
but my grandma had always been telling me I should go into technology. I thought,
‘All right, I should probably listen to you; you know more than I do!’”

Although networking and technology were something he’d always been interested in,
he discovered a whole new field of interest once beginning his program. His classes
and professors were engaging, and he was excited to dive further into his studies. 

“Our program is designed with the idea of getting students with little to no experience
into the IT field into entry-level positions, like a help desk position,” said Christian
Foster, assistant professor in computer systems and networking technology in UAA’s
Community and Technical College. “But we're also trying to prepare students for the
jobs beyond that. Next level jobs in terms of networking computer networking, computer
hardware, servers, operating systems, that kind of stuff, to provide the foundation
for a career.”

One of the biggest challenges Foster and other IT educators and professionals face
is trying to anticipate the technology needs and issues for five, 10, 20 years down
the road and training the current generation of programmers, networkers and engineers
with a basic understanding that will allow them to continue in a constantly evolving
field.

In Alaska, the challenges stack up. Not only are educators like Foster teaching in
an evolving field, but they’re also contending with teaching distance learning, which
in Alaska presents its own unique obstacles of vast and variable terrain and access
to internet systems with enough bandwidth to support an online program.

But despite the hurdles, Foster says that many of the fundamentals of teaching basic
networking and technology skills are the same and surprisingly hands-on. He said you’d
expect a technology class to be all online, but in-person labs are a huge part of
the program. Students need to learn how to troubleshoot issues on a computer or hook
up an entire network for an organization.

For Crace, he is thrilled he found a job in his field after graduating. He loved his
UAA program so much that he is currently pursuing his bachelor's in network operations
and security through an online program. He’s proud of the education and work he did
at UAA and is grateful for the opportunity that helped lay the foundation for his
career.

This press release was produced by the University of Alaska Anchorage. The views expressed here are the author’s own.