Many times when a person retires after a 20 plus-year career in the military, they have problems transitioning into civilian life. Not so with Robert St. John, a graduate of Southwest Technology Center in Altus, Okla. St. John is a member of the site server group with Northrop Grumman Information Technology. He currently holds 30 computer industry certifications, two associate degrees, a bachelor of science degree in aeronautics and is currently working on a third associate's degree in networking technology at Metropolitan Community College in Bellevue, Neb. Add 22 certifications earned while in the Air Force, completion of civilian training such as Cisco Certified Networking Associate, PC Repair Technician, Certified Internet Technician, Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and ongoing work towards a Windows 2000 certification and you have an individual who believes in training and education. "I never would have had this opportunity to work for such a great company without the training I received from Southwest Technology Center," St. John said. "In my 20 years of travel in the military, the Oklahoma CareerTech system is by far the best in the nation -- bar none." That's why he is being recognized as one of Oklahoma's CareerTech Champions. CareerTech Champions are alumni of Oklahoma's career and technology education system's programs or student organizations who have found success in a career. They help to illustrate how all types of education combine toward the success of the student. Champions attribute much of that success to their CareerTech programs or student organizations. Retiring from the Air Force in 1998 at Altus AFB, St. John wanted a different challenge after spending most of his military career in weather forecasting and operations. St. John's interest in computers, computer repair and networking techniques fit right into his plan for a second career. The work came easy for the Tampa, Fla. native and in just nine months, he completed all of the schools' program curriculum, as well as the Cisco Networking Academy program. St. John's first job, after completing the Networking Technology and PC Repair program in 1999, was as a systems analyst with Sterling Software, which is now known as Northrop Grumman Information Technology, in Bellevue. Since joining the company, St. John continues to work his way up the corporate ladder and is now Platform Engineer for the company. "Robert was simply an outstanding student who excelled in everything he did in class," said program instructor Alan Snider. "In fact, he was doing so well, he was offered the position with the Bellevue company before he completed our training program." In his present position, St. John diagnoses computer problems, repairs malfunctions, installs hardware for Macintosh and PC compatible computers plus he installs, reassigns and maintains telephone equipment and wiring and performs maintenance on a telephone switching unit. When he is not busy doing these tasks, he creates, modifies, updates and deletes division voice mail accounts, assists in maintaining a Microsoft Exchange server, is responsible for the installation, maintenance and certification of all computer networking equipment and cabling, and provides telephone customer support during the normal work day as well as in the evening. "My job at Northrop Grumman is very complex, but I really enjoy all the challenges the company offers," St. John said. "I never seem to be doing the same thing every day. It's certainly different from my military career." Related Links Southwest Technology Center Northrop Grumman Information Technology
	posted 1/17/2003	Story:Don Johnson Southwest Technology Center Public Information Officer Email: djohnson@swtc.org

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