The Cisco Networking Academy recently notified Mesa Community College instructor Bob Samson that he is one of their top 20 train-the-trainers in North America. 

Samson is in his 10th year as an instructor in Cisco Networking Academy classes at MCC.  Along with teaching traditional student classes, he is also a train-the-trainer for instructors in the Cisco Networking Academy Program, which has approximately 5,000 academies and 1,000,000 students worldwide.

“In addition to supporting other instructors nationwide, this allows me to be a better instructor to MCC students by previewing new curriculum, interacting with other very talented instructors, and anticipating certification changes,” Samson said.

Cisco recently revamped its instructor-trainer model and went to an invitation-only based program which required the candidate to pass a difficult online test, and then travel out of state for a 10-hour, in-person test. This process involved tough technical questions, live troubleshooting labs, pop-quiz type questions, creating micro-teach scenarios, and live teaching demonstrations.

Only about one-third of train-the-trainer candidates are successful, resulting in approximately 80 train-the-trainers in North America.

In addition to this recognition, Samson also placed 3rd out of 120 entries in an international contest amongst Cisco Instructor-trainers.

“I look forward to continuing to bring top-notch instruction and support to our students and other faculty members, and to maintain MCC’s reputation as a world-class educational institution,” Samson said.

To learn more about MCC’s Cisco and other Network and Security programs, visit mesacc.edu/programs/networking-security.