Text Box: The STC Fellowship at Work Text Box: Page 2 ò Return to Page 1 Text Box: STC LINES—July 2005 Text Box: By MELISSA SWARTZ For the past 12 years, the STC has sponsored a scholarship fund at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) for students in its Telecommunications program. Recently, the STC Board has been considering ideas for giving the program more visibility in a way that would benefit the STC, the University, and its students. Last month, the Board voted to lower the fee for student member- ship from $50 to $25 to make it more affordable for students. The STC has also committed to supporting ongoing fundraising for the CU Telecommunications Program under the framework of our existing STC Memorial Scholarship Fund with a goal of $5,000 per year. The benefit to the STC for such an effort would be an increase in the role of student members and a great-er potential for future members. Ivan Sindell, the STC’s immediate past-president, would like to see the scholarship fund increase by $5,000 per year, from $15,000 now to $25,000 in two years and $40,000 in five years. While this sounds like a large increase, all it would take is an annual $20-$30 tax deductible contribution by each STC member. Other options for supporting students include sponsoring a student member for $25 per year, or sponsoring students who wish to attend an STC conference. Since the 2005 fall conference will be in the Denver area, sponsoring a student for the fall conference promises to be an excellent opportunity to strengthen the STC’s public image and build its visibility among the telecommunications students at CU. Text Box:

STC LINES

A Quarterly Publication of The Society of Telecommunications Consultants

                                                                                                                                                                     HENRY BAIRD, Telecom Directions, LLC  - EDITOR

ROBERT HARRIS, Communications Advantage - ASSOCIATE EDITOR

MELISSA SWARTZ, Swartz Consulting, LLC - ASSOCIATE EDITOR

CATHY CIMAGLIA, STC Administrator - DISTRIBUTION

 

About the STC

The Society of Telecommunications Consultants is an international organization of voice and information technology professionals who serve clients in business, industry, service organizations and government. For over 25 years STC consultants have         delivered independent and ethical telecommunications expertise. This objective       guidance and support enables clients of STC consultants to benefit from the efficient  and effective use of voice and data communications technologies.

  © 2005  The Society of Telecommunications Consultants, Inc.    

Who Is Fernando Gana?

      As the most recent recipient of the fellowship grant the STC has established with the University of Colorado at Boulder, Fernando Gana could pass as as a model success story for the program.

      Fernando has now been awarded the University’s Master of Science, Telecommunications degree, and is in the process of returning to his home county of Chile. Before he left, LINES asked him about his perspective on the STC Fellowship as well as his own plans for the future.

      He is extremely grateful for the support of the STC, since the tuition for the program is quite high, especially for non-Colorado residents, and the students are grateful for whatever support is available. As it turns out, a few other fellowships are available to students who are enrolled in the Master of Science, Telecommunications program, most from corporations.

      Fernando explained that students are offered available fellowships grants and do not apply for them. The STC Fellowship grant is one of the smaller ones offered. Fernando’s was $600. Last year Fernando was the recipient of a similar but much larger fellowship from Accenture.

      When asked about tuition, he explained that a semester’s tuition for in-state students is about $2,000, while it is approximately $14,000 for international students. He also indicated that most in-state students are employed by organizations in the Denver area, who pay tuition for them.

      Upon completing the program this May, Fernando, already an engineer by training, returned immediately to Santiago to begin as the Research and Development Manager for Grupo GTD, a privately-held provider of voice, data, and video carrier services for urban and rural areas, something like Level 3 Communications in the United States. Fernando’s primary responsibility will be to manage new construction projects, including long haul fiber-builds throughout Chile, in part to bring broadband to rural Chilean villages. The company is headquartered in Santiago and is widely respected throughout South America. Its web site is www.grupogtd.com.