Rusty Nicholson, a 2010 UCA graduate, is a recipient of a prestigious Cisco internship. Nicholson was one of 29 students nationwide selected for the program.
More than 1,200 individuals applied for the internship. Candidates included students from Duke, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carnegie Mellon, Purdue, Texas, Michigan, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech.
The position is a one year training program that allows individuals to study and obtain certifications while also assisting in field work.
Nicholson, who received his degree in management information systems in May, moved to Herdon, Va. two months after graduating from UCA to begin his internship. While there, he will train as an associate systems engineer. An associate systems engineer provides technical assistance directly to the account managers and the customers.
Nicholson is assigned to the Customer Briefing Center, which is responsible for bringing customers in and explaining to them what the solution designed for them by Cisco will do for them and how to use it.
“I will get to work with cutting edge technology and meet with teams from “big-name” corporations and help them solve the technical issues businesses face today,” he said.