Scott McGregor shares his experience of establishing a new partnership with Iḷisaġvik College in Utqiaġvik, Alaska – an extraordinary community that is breaking down barriers and creating new approaches to education, technology and opportunity.
Standing near the top of the world, I’ve never felt closer to Cisco’s purpose.
Here in Utqiaġvik, Alaska – formerly known as Barrow – things look different. Utqiaġvik is located north of the Arctic Circle and is the northernmost city in the United States.
From where I stand on the shore of a sea that is frozen for most of the year, I get a sense of the remarkable history of the land that has been home to the Iñupiaq people for thousands of years, and the challenges they face. fight to keep your community for millennials.
Today, the people of Utqiaġvik face a growing challenge – integrating the culture and values of the past with the technological advances and knowledge needed to preserve their culture and prosper in a changing global economy.
This is what powering an inclusive future for all looks like.
A strong community – significant challenges
I came to Utqiaġvik with a small group representing Cisco’s Social Justice Department and our Native American Network staff group.
We are here to explore ways we can work together to remove barriers and create access to education, technology and opportunity.
The challenges here are significant.
Imagine living in a place so remote that you can only get to by plane, where the summer sun doesn’t dip below the horizon for 82 days in a row, and then doesn’t even reappear after it dips below the horizon for the last time every November. again until January.
Imagine living in a place where reliable access to modern conveniences like fresh produce and fuel is a challenge. And limited access to broadband makes it difficult to access critical services like education and health care, as well as to maintain a reliable connection with the rest of the world.
The remote location and harsh conditions are not the only obstacles. Utqiaġvik is on the front line of climate change. Rising seas are claiming land at an alarming rate. Barriers now block sections of the road that once surrounded the town.
If not now – when?
As I walk among the people, it is clear to me that despite the harsh conditions, the Iñupiaq are already prosperous. Communities around the world have much to learn from the vibrancy of this culture.
We are not here to help. We’re not here to write a check. We’re here to do what Cisco does best—connect the unconnected—and reimagine what’s possible through those connections.
To get real close and understand the unique combination of challenges this community faces – discovering new ways to bridge distance and difference to create an inclusive future.
This proximity—and this partnership—is essential to how Cisco fulfills its purpose of securing the future for all. And why we created Social Justice Actions to explore ways to create real impact in underserved communities.
The way forward – breaking down barriers in education
At the heart of this remote community is Iḷisaġvik College, one of only 35 accredited tribal colleges in the United States and the only tribal college in Alaska. The college’s president, Justina Wilhelm, grew up in the community and refers to the school as “unapologetically Inupiaq,” meaning the Inupiaq way of life, based on the rich foundations of an Inupiaq-led culture of subsistence with the land and the sea. values are woven into their curriculum and daily interactions.
Iḷisaġvik College has a modern IT infrastructure. But like many underserved educational institutions in the United States, there were some gaps, primarily around the college’s cybersecurity preparedness.
Addressing these gaps is essential. In 2023, the federal government created standards that require all schools that receive federal funding to be National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) cybersecurity compliant. For schools like Iḷisaġvik College, funding these upgrades is a big challenge and could ultimately decide whether they can continue to operate.
Through Cisco’s commitment to social justice, which ensures that minority-serving institutions across the country remain cybersecurity compliant, Cisco and its ecosystem of partners engaged Iḷisaġvik College and conducted a NIST assessment to identify technology gaps and then donated the technology and services needed to put them into practice. cyber security compliance. Iḷisaġvik College is the second tribal college to benefit from this initiative, enabling them to serve the local community as well as students taking their courses globally well into the future.
The best-in-class cybersecurity solution implemented at Iḷisaġvik was the Cisco Meraki MX – an all-in-one multi-functional appliance that provides easy deployment, remote management and state-of-the-art features. This unique combination of benefits is essential to empowering the vision of a new future for students, teachers and the wider community.
Bringing opportunities here
The partnership between Iḷisaġvik College and Cisco goes even deeper than cybersecurity compliance and technology modernization. In addition to supporting IT infrastructure and connectivity, we will offer our Cisco Networking Academy courses, which will allow students to earn certifications in cybersecurity and networking that will make them more competitive for jobs, including remote jobs.
This means residents will be able to stay in their community and earn a competitive salary in cybersecurity and networking.
This is a critical aspect of the path forward that the community creates. The opportunity to stay in Utqiaġvik and continue to be “unapologetically Iñupiaq” while tapping into a vibrant virtual job market was made possible by connectivity.
Lessons from the top of the world
When I embarked on this journey, I did not expect it to be one of the most profound experiences of my career.
Being in one of the most remote places in the world, I found a welcoming community that reminded me how important it is to get close to the community to fully understand their needs before providing a solution.
I discovered a new sense of what was possible when I walked alongside people who had lived on top of the world for thousands of years.
I left inspired and energized knowing that Cisco’s purposeful work has never been more important—or more relevant to what matters most in communities around the world.
As Cisco begins the final year of our five-year exploration of social justice, our work—and the impact we’re making in communities—will continue to expand with what we’ve learned here.
Preservation of the past – partnership for the future. The Cisco journey continues.
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