Cloud computing platforms provide on-demand access to a range of technology services, making them increasingly popular across businesses of all types, sizes, and industries. As one of the most widely adopted platforms, it has become increasingly important for a student’s career path to be familiar with Amazon Web Services (AWS).
To help their fellow students gain that competitive edge, a student group recently launched the AWS Cloud Club, dedicated to teaching about AWS Cloud, its various use cases, and how to get AWS Cloud certifications. Founded by Chris Enriquez, a junior information systems major in GW’s School of Business, it is open to students across the university regardless of prior coding experience.
“Six months ago, I was a political science major with no technical experience who had just switched to information systems,” said Enriquez. “I wished I had a community to navigate this space with, so I founded GW SITA for information systems majors in GWSB. Now, I’ve founded the AWS Cloud Club to help any student, mainly GW Engineering students, interested in using or working for AWS.”
The AWS Cloud Club will dive into the benefits of the cloud for organizations and offer hands-on experience through cloud-based projects, building both students’ technical and business expertise. For computer engineering majors like Narwan Joyenda, the club offers a valuable opportunity to go beyond classroom learning to explore how servers are used in the cloud.
“With the AWS Cloud Club, we’re helping engineering students build on that foundation of what goes on behind the scenes of the technologies they use and what each part actually does instead of just knowing them by name,” said Joyenda. “Now, you can learn how things work within the networks and systems you’re building.”
Joyenda currently serves as the club’s programming director after a friend connected her with Enriquez. Impressed by the club’s goals and Enriquez’s recent switch from having no tech background to founding two tech-focused clubs, she knew she wanted to join.
In her role, Joyenda organized a robust set of events for the spring semester that are now underway. The first meeting was held on February 4, during which members introduced themselves, discussed how to study for coveted AWS certifications, and presented the AWS Cloud through a trial project to build a server.
Joyenda understands how difficult it can be for an engineering student to commit to a club due to time constraints, so the meeting also covered how to manage your time while making time to study for certifications. As she explained, the goal is to “build a community where all of us work together towards our shared goal of learning the knowledge behind cloud computing.”
Each new event builds on the last, helping students study and apply the knowledge they’re gaining as they complete each certification. After hearing from a guest speaker on his experience preparing for the Solutions Architect AWS certification, members of the club will build their own full-stack app to learn about common AWS architectures and then end the semester with a hackathon at which they’ll put everything they learned to the test.
“For a computer engineering student like myself, I would be really proud that I built an app in a club at my college and university,” Joyenda said.