This post was written by Sarah Hurd, Content Strategist for Cisco's Corporate Social Responsibility marketing team.

It takes a special team of people to pull off Cisco Live US (CLUS) each year. As Cisco's largest customer Cisco Live US attracts 28,000 of the industry's top talent looking to propel their professional growth through in-person events, live broadcasts, and 7000 on-demand trainings centered around Cisco products, solutions, and services. It also attracts an additional 370,000 online attendees from around the world, creating a complex web of internet connections.

Given the sheer volume of people attending and the different types of trainings and sessions offered, the pressure is high to make sure the event's network runs seamlessly. The team responsible for running Cisco Live's infrastructure are Cisco IT super stars-the Network Operation Center (NOC) team. Together, they work tirelessly for a week to create a flawless customer experience through uninterrupted wireless network connectivity.

The NOC team also relies on a handpicked group of hardworking Cisco Networking Academy students who make up the event's annual Dream Team. Nominated by instructors from Networking Academy colleges and universities for their demonstrated technical skills, activities outside the classroom, and geographic diversity