New Scholarship Provides CCNA Training for HBCU Students

Red River and the Red River Chartiable Foundation announced a new, highly competitive scholarship program for Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification, open exclusively to students currently enrolled in a historically black college or university (HBCU).  

The Cisco CCNA learning program is designed to prepare students for certification and lucrative careers that empower the digital economy. The course covers the knowledge and skills required to design, install, operate and troubleshoot a small to medium-size enterprise branch network. Once a candidate successfully passes their CCNA accreditation, the journey begins towards more advanced certifications such as the Cisco Certified Networking Professional (CCNP) and the Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE).

Red River recognizes that black workers with bachelor’s degrees remain significantly under-compensated in relation to equally educated white workers. “Red River is proud to introduce this new scholarship and extend the promise of IT careers to a historically under-represented population,” said Dan McGee, Chief Operations Officer at Red River. “As a company, we truly believe that technology careers have the potential to make an impact on individual lives, and we will continue to look for ways to jumpstart careers in the industry.”

 Applications are currently being accepted for the scholarship program. Recipients will be announced by April 15, 2021, and the course will begin in July. 20 HBCU students from across the country will receive fully-funded CCNA training and an exam voucher. Additionally, they will be assigned a Red River mentor during the time of their coursework to enable further professional development.