The Honors Program at UWF provides students with one-of-a-kind opportunities to gain hands-on training and experience, creating beyond the classroom education that is so important in the job market today.

One example is my recent Miami visit, sponsored by UWF Honors, to the tenth annual Internet Telephony (IT) Conference and Expo. The purpose of my trip was to attend the Fonality trixbox Open Communication Certification (FtOCC) seminar for the implementation and dissemination of Voice over Internet (VoIP) Products, which was instructed by UWF Honors graduate Tyler Merritt who is now a technical writer for Fonality. It was a true pleasure meeting Tyler, whose character is nothing short of a tribute to the Honors program here at UWF. From the moment you shake Tyler’s hand it is apparent that he is a highly motivated and talented young man and these characteristics were reinforced throughout the course of FtOCC.

I arrived at the IT expo with very little knowledge of VoIP and after three days left with the ability to set up Fonality’s IT system using their trixbox hardware. I had no idea what I was getting into when Dr. Lanier contacted me about attending the conference, but I am thankful to have been invited and pleased to have accepted.