Application Process:
https://blogs.vmware.com/vmtn/2016/11/vexpert-2017-applications-are-now-open.htmlThis was my first time applying and I was fortunate enough to be awarded the title of vExpert 2017!
Award Announcement
https://blogs.vmware.com/vmtn/2017/02/vexpert-2017-award-announcement.html
I owe A TON of credit to the guys at the NYC VMUG. The leaders of the group are some of the most inspiring, positive, knowledgeable and helpful people that I have met. I’m lucky enough to not only be part of the same group as them but I can call a bunch of them my friends. There are currently 11 vExperts from the NYC VMUG. Each one of them encourages all of the VMUG members to join their ranks. That’s what I’m here to do as well.
How did I become a vExpert?
Well, as my buddy Ariel Sanchez (@arielsanchezmor) said, “Overall, I think he just didn’t know he was a vExpert, but he has been doing the role for years now!”. This filled me with such a sense of pride and accomplishment. What did it mean though? The more I’ve thought about it since applying, I’ve realized that it’s about being part of the community and embracing others to join you and help evangelize virtualization and VMware. There are so many ways you can go about that. Some people are amazing bloggers (I’m not there yet but I hope to be one day), others are VMUG leaders, others have YouTube channels, some give vBrownBag presentations and there are a number of other ways to get there.
Personally, I try to be active in official VMUG meetings and unofficial meetings such as Whiteboard Sessions, vBeers, Other User Group meetings etc. as well. I’ve given a presentation on Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Fundamentals (HCI Presentation) and I hope to do more presentations this year. I also try to post any and all interesting VMware-related articles that I come across to my Twitter (@NScuola) and LinkedIn (NicholasScuola) accounts. I blog (spookysolutions.com) from time to time as well, and I plan to do that with much more frequency. I’m in the process of building out my home lab and testing a large number of things from vSphere 6.5 to VSAN to NSX to vRA. Stay tuned. My favorite way of participating in the community is just talking shop with other members of the community. This doesn’t just have to be during a VMUG meeting. It can be over beers during a conference, at the airport waiting for a flight, in a Slack channel or online forum like Reddit. There are plenty of ways to talk to people. Most of us have similar backgrounds in the industry and have probably gone through some of the same upgrade/install/troubleshooting steps. It’s always fun for me to hear about the experiences of others and find ways that I can improve my process or find different ways of accomplishing the same tasks going forward. Every once in awhile I’ll even help someone out with some of my own experiences.
What does being named a vExpert mean to me?
Being named a vExpert showed me that my contributions in the virtualization community actually mean something. It also provides access to some of the sharpest minds in the VMware space. I have been able to not only meet some people whose blogs I’ve followed for years but I’ve been able to interact with them directly and have meaningful conversations around the technology. It also shows me that anyone could do this. I’ve named a few of the different avenues you can take to get to a vExpert but the most important thing is that you have to dive in and do it.
Spooky Solutions 