Learn more about your community peers in our Member Spotlight!

MeredithW
Meraki Alumni (Retired)

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It’s time for our November Member spotlight!

 

For our eighth Member Spotlight, we chose to recognize @KRobert. Since joining, he has written 77 posts, provided 3 solutions, and received 65 kudos! We've really enjoyed all of his helpful switching and SD-WAN board contributions 🙂

 

Congratulations!🏅 👏

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Tell us a little bit about your background.

Prior to working at my current company, I have only had hands-on experience with networking equipment in school. I had a knack for AV and technology  while volunteering at my church as a high school student and that interest lead me to pursue the Technology field as a career. I designed a couple websites during that time and frankly did not enjoy it, so networking became a much more favorable and enjoyable option. In school I discovered network  and security were definitely the directions I wanted to take. Shortly after graduating from college, I took a a job as a help desk technician at my current employer and was introduced to Meraki though a previous colleague that now conveniently works for Meraki. My colleague left and I slowly began my transition to the Network Engineer. Prior to him leaving he was able to get Meraki into our environment and we have been migrating toward a full stack Meraki setup since. I really enjoy connecting dots and solving puzzles. The Meraki appliances along with the simplicity of the dashboard makes everyday a fun and enjoyable day at work.

 

What motivated you to start posting in the community and what keeps you coming back?

The community is full of people who know so much about Meraki, Networking, and Technology. Seeing that in a welcoming environment wanted me to be more involved in it. I have been a part of the Meraki Community for just over a year and I decided that I wanted to be more involved so I challenged myself in the month of October to try and be one of the 4 MOTM. I reached the top 5 for about 5 hours on 10/31, but @NolanHerring and his awesome skills took that spot back by the end of the day. At the end the month I was able to make it to the 6th place, but the challenge to keep up with peers like @NolanHerring@PhilipDAth@jdsilva@Nash, and @BrechtSchamp, made me want to continue to dive into helping the community and try to be a part of the awesome knowledge pool that the Community is. I tip my hat to the top 5 I just mentioned. It's almost robotic how fast they are at replying, how much knowledge they have and how freely they share with everyone. Kudos to all of them 🙂

 

Any Meraki product / feature that you’re particularly fond of or couldn’t live without?

Currently my favorite Meraki product is the Z3C. It has everything you need including 4G LTE connection. It is the definition of VPN Plug-n-Play. My favorite feature of Meraki is the Dashboard. I enjoy showing others that I can setup everything for a device(s) prior to it even being turned on, and then say "All set. Plug it in and that is all you should have to do." The look on their face and the "Really? That's it?" that follows would make any Network Engineer happy.

 

What’s your advice to folks looking to move to the next level in their Meraki / networking knowledge?

Stay humble and try not to have an "I know everything attitude." You may know a lot, but you can't know everything. If you are stumped on an issue, there is always someone out there who has ran into it before. With enough Google searching skills and an awesome community like this one, there is always an answer you can find and usually a helping hand on the other side. Finally don't silo yourself to just networking. Branch out and learn the whole infrastructure stack. The more you know about your environment, the easier connecting dots and solving issues becomes.

 

 

Thanks, @KRobertWant to nominate one of your fellow community members for next month's spotlight? Submit your nomination here!

11 Comments
jdsilva
Kind of a big deal

Glad to have you in the Community @KRobert ! I've seen lots of great stuff in your posts. Keep challenging yourself! You'll catch @NolanHerring slipping one day 🙂

BrechtSchamp
Kind of a big deal

Well done @KRobert ! It's our pleasure to have you around. Your contributions did not go unnoticed 😉. I specifically remember noticing it on October 29th 😁.

CptnCrnch
Kind of a big deal
Great to have you with us @KRobert! 👍🏻
rthiaga
Here to help

KRobert,

 

It is our pleasure to have you and learn from you.

Thanks for all your effort

NolanHerring
Kind of a big deal

We can swap places for the month of December @KRobert    😃

Your contributions help make the forums a better place and we all thank you for it !

Nash
Kind of a big deal

It's so kind of you to mention me! I'm glad to see you got a moment in the spotlight. I've noticed some really good, valuable posts from you lately. 

 

I followed that same "help desk to networker" path that you're currently on. The help desk experience is like a super power when you're trying to figure out if something is actually the endpoint, since you can more easily prove it to whomever owns handling endpoints.

KRobert
Head in the Cloud

It is a real honor to be a part of a community that is rich in knowledge and knowledgeable people. Thanks everyone for the kinds words!

joshuametcalfe
New here

Prior to working at my current company, I have only had hands-on experience with networking equipment in school. I had a knack for AV and technology  while volunteering at my church as a high school student and that interest lead me to pursue the Technology field as a career. I designed a couple websites during that time and frankly did not enjoy it, so networking became a much more favorable and enjoyable option. In school I discovered network  and security were definitely the directions I wanted to take.


Good to know there are people who have experience with creating networks at school and working with students!

I know whom I can ask for advice now!

do my homework

MeredithW
Meraki Alumni (Retired)

@BlakeRichardson and @kYutobi have expertise in schools as well!

KRobert
Head in the Cloud

I always open to sharing the wealth of knowledge @joshuametcalfe ! @Nash I agree 100% The Help Desk really lays the foundation of how your network is perceived to the end user. I think if you have any interaction with end users in your field, you should do at the very least a small stint of help desk support to get that foundation. 

BlakeRichardson
Kind of a big deal

@joshuametcalfe I am more than happy to offer any help. Schools are a very different environment to corp / SME.