I am officially writing this from my new home – Victoria, BC! My amazing partner Sean and I are living together here on the Island.

It took a few days, but my servers running my website have been setup again in the new house!

Here’s a quick look at the new server setup:

Due to the repurposing of my ethernet cables for other uses, I’ve had to sacrifice the full setup of the backend network temporarily. I hope to rebuild it using professional labeling at a later time.

I decided to retire the existing pfSense setup for the houses internet. This means the internet for guests and my partner is contained to the Shaw router instead of flowing threw the server. The pfSense router is still be used for my internal VMs, and my website network is being managed the same way.

I hope to rebuild a lot of the labs I did over my two years at VIU to not only practice my skills, but to research new improvements that have come out since then.

Otherwise, I am very happy to begin a new chapter of life down here in Victoria. Victoria is a lovely city with mild climate and rich history. I hope to find employment here soon and begin exploring the area (Social distancing of course)

This medal is made available annually, and is awarded to the student who achieves the highest academic standing, upon graduation from a two year Diploma program at Vancouver Island University.

I am incredibly honoured to have been selected to receive this medal for the 2020 year at Vancouver Island University. Here are a few select images of the medal:

Included with the medal is a small booklet containing information about the crest and our the history of the award. Here is a direct copy-paste of how it breaks down the crest:

THE COAT OF ARMS OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JULIE PAYETTE

The wing at the centre of the coat of arms conveys the notions of exploration, liberty, and safety. It also alludes to Ms. Payette’s career as an aviator and astronaut. The Royal Crown symbolizes the vice regal office and service to Canada,

Above the shield, the astronaut’s helmet represents the quest for knowledge extending beyond the frontiers of the known world. The bar of music symbolizes creativity and virtuosity. These notes of Alessandro Marcello’s Oboe Concerto in D Minor evoke Ms. Payette’s lifelong interest in music.

The motto, which means “Through hardship to the stars, highlights the importance of perseverance and effort. The Canada lynx, proud, agile and strong, represent the people of this country. Around their necks, the stars symbolize the spark which inspires the drive to excel, while the laurel leaves – laurier in French refer to the name of Ms. Payette’s son, Laurier. The Earth, represented here as Ms. Payette saw it from space, remains to this day the only place where humans can live. Sigma (2), the mathematical symbol for the sum, symbolizes the power of facts and of science, and reminds us that we share the Earth and have a collective responsibility to care for it.

I would like to extend my greatest thanks to the ITAS Department Staff for selecting me as the recipient for the ITAS 2020 Lionel Hennessy Memorial Award.

The award is given to a student selected by the faculty who achieved the single highest grades among the graduating class. While it was a pretty tough decision this year, I was chosen with recognition placed on the quality of work and effort I put into my time at ITAS. I am incredibly thankful to have been selected from this process.

I enjoyed my time at Vancouver Island University, and have nothing but compliments for the staff managing the Information Technology and Applied Systems program. I’ll continue recommending this program to anyone else interested in learning the more applied side of IT.

Thank you again!

Everett Dahling