A former UC Berkeley football captain, Michael Lowe, shares his career-switch story from playing D1 football to becoming a Cisco Networking Academy apprentice with the San Francisco 49ers' network engineering team. He describes learning CCNA fundamentals through the D.C. Infrastructure Academy, attending Cisco Live as part of the Networking Academy Dream Team, and now gaining hands-on IT experience supporting stadium operations like press box connectivity, concession TVs, and the stadium microphone system ahead of the 2026-2027 NFL season.
Table of contents
From the gridiron to the server roomWhat fans don’t see on game dayFinding a path through Cisco Networking AcademyBehind the scenes at Cisco LiveLeadership beyond the fieldSkills and opportunity can open doors2K Impressions1 Comment