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Sharing informationmakes travelingteacher thrive

Camps, which are intensecertification programs that last forthree weeks."Those are timeswhen we really bond with theresellers," he said, noting that thecamps operate six days a week fortwelve hours each day.

Class sizes vary from about 12 toL6 students, providing a frequentopportunity for one-on-oneinstruction. The relationshipsdeveloped during classes oftenextend beyond the course itself,Doucette noted.

Keeping in touch"I get lots of e-mails from resellersafter the classes are finished.Whether it's a question about aparticular application or anupdate on how business is going,we encourage them to stay intouch."

Doucette says the oppoftunity tomeet people and shareknowledge is the most excitingpart of his job. "But the adrenalineis also pumping out on the roadbecause you neYer know exactlywhat you'll find at each site . Itreally keeps you on yorr toes."

\ Zou knew Raymond

Y Doucette when youI were in school. He was

the kid with the telescope whostudied the stars. He had thesubscription to Disney's Wodd ofKnowledge encyclopedias. Healso liked to hang out with hisfriends and go fishing and skiing.

Smart and active , Doucette wasthe kind of guy people said wouldgo places. It appears they wereright about the travelinginstructor from Tech Data'seducation department.

Doucette, a native ofNewfoundland, Canada, beganhis tenure as an instructor aftermoving to Florida four years ago.He moved from Canada, where hehad been a systems engineer foran IT provider.

As a Tech Data instructor,Doucette travels aboutT5 percentof the time.

"I've been to all the major citiesin the country, as well as to somesmaller places.They sent me toAlaska one time for a special on-site training. It was the first timeI'd seen a moose come up to theparking lotJ'

Striving for excellenceDoucette, who earned abachelor's degree in computerscience from Memorial Universifyin Newfoundland, spends most ofhis time teaching curricula on

Novell, IBM, Microsoft and Cisco.He also works on numerousspecial projects.

"I love learning - not just casuallearning, but mastering products.Then I enjoy passing thatknowledge on.We thrive onfeedback and interaction from ourstudents, who are akeadyknowledgeable resellers. Theycome to us for a more in-depthlook at a particular technology."

Getting reodyThe training required to gainvendor certification as aninstructor is extensive, includingcourse work and testing. In somecases, Doucette must presentportions of the course to themanufacturers themselves beforeearning their stamp of approval.

One of his more memorable tripswas "Integration 97:' a l?-city tourin which he taught UND( and'Windows

NT integration. Stopsalong the way included NewYork,San Francisco, Boston andChicago.

"What we try to do is giveresellers the information andknowledge that provides the skillssets they need personally andprofessionally. I teach frequentlyin some locations and see a lot ofthe same faces for differentcoufses."

Doucette has been an instructorat a number of Microsoft Boot

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