Rob:  All right, Keith, well we appreciate the story.  Now helping students enter the information technology field is the goal of another innovative program with over 800,000 graduates nationwide.  The CISCO Networking Academy is a unique private-public partnership designed to provide students with basic and advanced I-T skills.  They celebrated their tenth anniversary in Oklahoma during a ceremony at our state capitol.
My, how much communication has changed since the early days of the railroad, or the days of the Spanish Explorers.
Rob:  Under murals adorning the state capitol rotunda, Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins welcomed students, educators, and CISCO officials to a celebration marking ten years of success in Oklahoma, and a new day in communications.
Lt Gov Jari Askins:  The skills that were necessary then are incredibly different than the skills that are required today to link together different peoples, whether they be companies or countries.  And as we look at how our economy in Oklahoma and around the country, and yes even around the world, has been impacted by outside forces, one thing is clear, the ability to conduct business by high tech technology means is something that is never going to get old.
Rob:  Well since its start, CISCO’s Networking Academy has helped more than 6300 students learn skills that have changed their lives.
Otis Sarad, Jr:  They have truly blessed me in my business… and not only in my business, but in my career.
Rob:  Otis Sarad, Jr, attended CISCO Academy at Tulsa Technology Center and says what he learned helped springboard his company to success.
Otis Sarad, Jr:  And actually was able to take my company to the next level, so, from being an ISP that provided web hosting and internet access.  Well, we became a telecommunications company.
Rob:  Today there are over 33 CISCO academies across the state, with 70 instructors, helping students in high school, CareerTech, and college, programs that Oklahoma’s state director of CareerTech says is an investment in the state.
Phil Berkenbile:  If you look at the facts and the figures, they have supplied over 3.9 million dollars to education in support of programs such as we’re having today.
Rob:  A partnership that’s training a workforce for high tech and high demand jobs, something everyone at the capitol can smile about.