As far back as I can recall, I've always been sure of a few things: my fascination with computers, my experience of grief, and my strength to keep going, no matter the obstacles in my way. At ten years old, I lost my mom. I didn't understand grief, but intuitively, I knew I had to continue going to school and making her proud. My father took me in, and I will always be grateful for his love. Within the stable home he provided, I thrived. By 12, I was fascinated by computers and technology. My father bought me my first computer to encourage my development, and I found my calling! My childhood fascination still holds today.
At the start of high school, I decided to study information technology and cyber defense in college. As I continued my journey, I lost both my father and older brother. I admit that there were days when I wanted to give up on everything- grief is not linear, and at times I felt like I was drowning in a tsunami of sadness. Thankfully, my family's love and my desire to make them proud gave me the strength to follow my dreams, and I kept going.
Today, I am lucky to spend my time-solving problems, which, to me, is the heart of IT: Finding solutions that work. I have found the field I want to work in for the rest of my life. I thrive on challenges, so I want to pursue a master's degree. Today, that same little girl (me!), is a Security Operations Analyst with three years of progressively responsible positions in IT. In this brief context, I will describe the main parts of education and work in IT and my preparation for the master’s program.
At Securatech, I serve at least ten people a night. When their alarms go off in our Immix and Bold software, I must contact the customer to ensure everything is alright. If it is a Break-in or fire alarm, I must dispatch the police. I put the notes on the program to inform the other people & manager what happened. I also learned Immix Training; a software developed to improve my ability to respond to security events.
Before working at Securatech, I was a Service Desk Analyst at Blue Cross, Blue Shield, providing first-level contact, incident resolution, and advanced troubleshooting for users. I was about to be promoted, but the company decided on a hiring freeze, so I left the company in pursuit of a higher salary.
For two years, I was an IT Helpdesk Support Specialist with SpotOn Emagine before they let me go due to the Pandemic. At Spoton, I troubleshoot end-user computer hardware and software, printers, scanners, and networking issues through calls, emails, and chat inquiries.
Additionally, I have worked as a Service Desk Engineer at Korn Ferry and as an Intern in IT, installing Windows Server 2008 and Linux on backup servers and ensuring the programs run correctly.
The Master of Science Information Assurance Cybersecurity degree is the natural next step for me after earning my bachelor’s degree in Information Technology Security of Cyber Defense at Baker College of Clinton Township in 2016. Although I am well-prepared to succeed in this program, I need to advance my technical and management skills, especially in risk management and legal issues in cybersecurity, such as data protection, to protect organizations and become a leader.
I can't wait to start this next chapter of my life. The best is yet to come!