Pay It Forward Scholarship

The Pay It Forward scholarship was created in 2013 in order to give someone I knew an opportunity to become Cisco certified (CCNA R&S) and increase their chances of breaking into the networking profession. Going forward, 1 person every year will be selected from a group of applicants and will be provided with official course material books from Cisco Press to study from. Other study materials such as flash cards or CBT videos may be provided at my discretion if they can be afforded. In addition, the scholarship winner’s first exam attempt, whether it be the single, composite exam or each exam in the two exam (ICND 1 and 2) approach will be paid for. However, subsequent attempts of the same exam will be the responsibility of the scholarship winner if they did not pass originally.

In order to be considered for the Pay It Forward scholarship, applicants must be a US resident (subject to change) and willing to perform the following requirements:

  • Applicants must submit a 300-400 word essay describing the reasons why they want to become a network professional, any steps they’ve taken thus far to lead them down the path of becoming a network professional, and any circumstances they’ve dealt with that have prevented them from being able to study for the CCNA and/or break into the networking field.
  • Scholarship winners will be given a basic ‘contributor’ account on this site and they must be willing to submit at least one blog post a month on a topic of their choice related to the CCNA R&S exam until they pass the exam.
  • Scholarship winners are also encouraged to participate in any social media events that may come as a result of winning. This includes but is not limited to blog posts on other sites, podcasts, etc.

I will accept applicants’ essays every year from December 1 through December 31 and the winner will be announced by February 1 of the next calendar year. Applicants, please submit your essays to thepacketologist [at] gmail [dot] com.

Donations from the community can be made by visiting the gofundme page. The donations I receive will solely be used to help the winners study for and take the CCNA R&S exam. I promise to be as transparent as possible on how I use your donations.

Please note that up to 5% of your donation will automatically be taken from gofundme.

DISCLAIMER: I, Keith C Miller, will not be held responsible for anything good or bad that happens to the Pay It Forward (PIF) scholarship winners. I am doing this out of kindness and in an attempt to help others. I do not wish to take credit for any events that occur as a result of winning this scholarship. Scholarship offers and requirements are subject to change at any time as deemed necessary.