Matthew Smerdel – IT Living Lab

The Living Lab has given me vital insight into what a career in the IT field could potentially look like. From learning to manage my time, deal with unforseen problems, and work with others, to completing group projects and meeting deadlines, the Living Lab has provided me an opportunity to learn and grow as a future IT professional.

Matthew Smerdel

Testimonials

Living Lab was a last-minute choice for me, and now I feel it should be the first choice anyone makes. The hands-on experience I have gained has helped me tremendously. I’ve definitely stepped out of my comfort zone numerous times and loved every moment of it. The instructors are extremely helpful, and my fellow classmates have also been teachers to me as well. Eugene Gephart

The Living Lab has taught me innumerable lessons about IT professionalism, the importance of collaboration and communication, and the need for breadth and depth in technical subjects. I wouldn’t have been able to progress so far without the help and guidance I’ve received from the Living Lab. Devan Douglas Hardwick

The Living Lab has taught me that not all projects will go as planned. You will run into problems and situations that frustrate you. I have, however, learned a great deal about logs and log management. I gained confidence in my problem-solving skills and overcoming obstacles when it comes to IT projects . Samuel J. Jacobs

The Living Lab provided me with a unique, real-world experience that other classes cannot. This class enabled me to use the skills that I have acquired from my previous classes and apply them to a real-world setting. Kris Westermann

The Living Lab has been an enjoyable experience. It has provided new skills while strengthening old ones and has given me insight into the technical workplace. Wendell Matthew Klene

FreeNAS is an open-source, Linux based freeBSD, network storage operating system. It can be installed on virtually any hardware platform that allows it to share data over a network. In this project, FreeNAS is being used to house multiple virtual machines for a virtual training program. FreeNAS utilizes a Web-GUI that enables a remote connection through a browser using the assign IP address for the FreeNAS server. This connection is initially insecure and needs a certificate of authority to be e… Read more Creating a secure CA connection for FreeNAS to use with ESXi 6 Virtual Environment

The Living Lab was a great opportunity to gain different technical experience in the IT field. The projects were all challenging and simulated a real-world environment to deliver upon. Nick Barnett

I didn’t know what to expect when I signed up for the Living Lab. It has been a long and difficult journey this semester, but I got hands-on experience with Linux. I hoped to cover more networking material, but setting up an intrusion detection system and troubleshooting commands did make this seemingly impossible task for a student with no prior experience more approachable. I also got to make network cables for the first time, which was an added bonus. Nelson Soriano

I have definitely determined that this class could be just like a real life IT position. You never know how long a project might take, even a simple task. I’ve had some tasks take only a couple of hours, and I worked on one project for 36 hours straight. But I feel that Living Lab is helping to prepare me for what will come in the professional world. Eugene Gephart

Living Lab has been a great experience for me to learn daily obligations to maintain a healthy network. I’ve learned independent research is a very important process before network testing is conducted. I’ve also learned that you must have a process to monitor packets flowing in and out of the network. Working with packet sniffing programs has been helpful. In a team environment, I’ve also learned to install network cables, mount and install switches, and test networks. Charles Alan Stone