From Aruba to CCIE: The Journey That Changed Everything

Every chapter of the journey led to this one. What began with a teenager leaving Aruba for military school eventually became a journey through education, setbacks, career changes, technology, and an ambitious goal: earning the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert certification. In Episode 06 of The Journey, Wendell Bennett looks back at the road that took him from Aruba to military school, Virginia State University, Atlanta, and eventually into a career in information technology. As his experience in Cisco voice and collaboration grew, so did his ambitions. The CCIE became the next goal — but reaching it would require a completely different level of commitment. Wendell traveled to India for 14 days of intensive preparation, spending extremely long days studying and working in the lab. After passing the written exam, the challenge became the eight-hour hands-on CCIE lab. The first attempt ended seven points short. The second ended just one point short. After coming that close, walking away would have been easy. Instead, Wendell returned for a third attempt in California. While his flight was leaving Los Angeles, the results finally arrived: Congratulations. CCIE #55296. Episode 06 isn't simply the story of earning a certification. It's about the years of experiences that came before it — family sacrifice, discipline, failure, changing direction, continuous learning, and refusing to stop when the goal was within reach. From Aruba to CCIE #55296, every part of the journey mattered.