At first, I thought I would be hacking networks, and systems or stopping ‘ the bad guys’ but boy was I WRONG. I learned right away there is a lot more to cyber security than just hacking. There are multiple domains one can pursue in cyberspace including but not limited to Blue Team and Red Team, Cyber Threat Intelligence and more! William taught me the fundamentals of cybersecurity including the different types of malware, security protocols, and how to stay safe online aka cyber hygiene. From there, I was able to build on the foundation that I established and work towards becoming a cybersecurity professional.

At the beginning of my senior year, I joined the CyberXE cyber security and professional development skills training program. The program exposed me to the industry and what the everyday life of a cybersecurity professional consists of. The program provides a real team environment that allowed me to learn and educate myself amongst my colleagues. I learned the necessary hard and soft skills that are needed to become a professional in this industry From writing reports and sharing them with my team. I also worked hard to develop a solid fundamental baseline understanding of what cyber security principles are such as Threat Intelligence, MITRE ATT&CK framework, Kali Linux, Python3 and so much more. This program provided an ecosystem that allowed me to become a leader and a more confident person.