Three Utah High School Seniors Receive Top Honors at Novell's BrainShare '98

PROVO, Utah — March 26, 1998 — Novell and the Utah State Office of Education announced today that they will present the Young Network Professional Scholarship Awards to three outstanding Utah students this Friday during the keynote address at Novell's BrainShare '98, taking place at the Salt Palace Convention Center. An audience of computer networking professionals from around the world will be assembled at the presentation to honor these ambitious and talented students.

Scholarship winners were selected from students who have taken advantage of the Novell Education Academic Partner program and pursued Novell training while still in high school. Additional selection criteria included students who have demonstrated high-tech experience and leadership abilities, both within their schools and within the community, teacher recommendations, resume qualifications, difficulty of course load and student essays.

Orem High School student David Madsen takes the honor of winning first place and a $2,000 scholarship. Madsen installed, configured and is now administering networks at the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce and has been an intern at the Novell SuperLabs since last year. He has already passed the required tests and received his Certified Novell Administrator (CNA) credentials. "I am happy that I was able to participate and benefit the community with my services." said Madsen."I think that it's a great thing for Novell to offer money to students in the technological field."

Second prize winner Dave Pagano, also CNA certified, is a senior at Roy High School. He was also the second place winner of the VICA computer applications competition. He will receive a scholarship of $1,500. Matthew Sherwood Rogers is the third place winner, receiving a $1,000 scholarship. Rogers is a senior at Lehi High School, a CNA, and has configured and administered an elementary school LAN.

"Novell is dedicated to preparing a generation of young people for the future." said Linda Linfield, manager of Novell community relations and internal communication. "We applaud the accomplishments of David, Dave and Matthew and congratulate them for winning this year's Young Network Professional scholarship awards."

The Young Network Professional Scholarships were first awarded in 1996 to three seniors excelling in high-tech experience and leadership skills. Since then, nine students have received scholarships through the YNP program and have continued to succeed in the high tech arena.

According to the Utah Department of Workforce Services, 39,698 Utahns are employed by IT companies. The department also reports that over 29,000 Utahns perform IT-related functions at companies that are not classified as IT vendors. "Measured by revenue and employment figures, Utah's largest industry is IT. And, analysts are projecting the industry to grow an additional 38 percent by the turn of the century," said Peter Genereaux, founder and president of the Utah Information Technology Association (UITA). "This exponential growth leaves both IT and non-IT companies seeking skilled employees that are proficient in technical support. Novell is one company whose vision has set industry standards worldwide for training and certifying individuals as skilled IT professionals."

"The Certified Novell Administrator endorsement addresses one of many critical needs in the Information Technology industry." said Rob Brems, associate superintendent of Utah State Office of Education. "The Utah State Office of Education is pleased to be partnering with Novell to assist young people and dedicated instructors in addressing this shortage while providing a well paying career option for high school students."

Created in 1992, the NEAP program was Novell's and the entire information technology industry's pioneer training program for bringing vendor training to colleges, universities, and trade schools. The NEAP-Secondary program enables participating non-profit secondary schools to offer Novell-authorized classes, providing high school students an opportunity to prepare for the Certified Novell Administrator (CNA) credential, a globally recognized technical certification.

Since the program's inception, Novell Education reports over 350 U.S. schools, including colleges, universities, trade schools and high schools, currently enrolled in the NEAP and NEAP-Secondary programs, with a projected 300 new schools participating by the end of the 1999 academic year. There are currently over 200 NEAPs worldwide offering training to over 25,000 students per year. Novell was the first vendor to bring IT training to the secondary level.

About Novell

The pioneer in information technology education programs, Novell Education has been certifying IT professionals since 1986. Worldwide, there are currently 290,000 CNAs; 135,000 Certified Novell Engineers (CNEs); 10,000 Master CNEs, 800 Certified Internet Professionals (CIPs); and 5,500 Certified Novell Instructors (CNIs).

Founded in 1983, Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) is the world's leading provider of network software. The company offers a wide range of network solutions for distributed network, Internet, Intranet and small- business markets. Novell Education and technical support programs are the most comprehensive in the network computing industry. Information about Novell's complete range of products and services can be accessed on the World Wide Web at http://www.novell.com.

CNA, Certified Novell Administrator, CNE, Certified Novell Engineer, CNI, Certified Novell Instructor, Master CNE, NEAP, Novell Education Academic Partner, NAEC, Novell Authorized Education Center, and Certified Internet Professional are registered service marks, service marks or trademarks of Novell, Inc., in the United States and other countries. Other product and brand names are trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contact:
Laura Kvinge
Novell Education
Phone: (801) 222-4029
Internet: lkvinge@novell.com