In 2020, the summer after I graduated from Amherst County High School, I, Alanna Richerson entered Old Dominion University as a freshman. Although I was not exactly classified as a freshman though because I had entered with an associate’s degree in general studies from Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) starting my college career off ahead of the curb with 63 credit hours. I entered Old Dominion as a computer science major. Entering during 2020 also meant entering college during the height of COVID which created many different issues that had never been encountered before. During this era, Zoom meetings were at an all-time high in the education curriculum and in person classes became foreign. I was placed on academic warning, however I quickly recovered. Getting this academic warning whipped me back into shape because it made me realize how much I had messed up and caused me to prioritize to reason I actually came to college for. During this time, there was a class that also aided me in getting back on track by creating an academic plan and helping me to realize what was preventing me from doing my work in a formal manner.

During the summer after my freshman year, I obtained my first ever job at Walmart. During my couple of months Walmart, I learned organization skills through making sure I was maintaining customer order separation. Also, I began obtaining the information I needed to handle customer service. In my sophomore year, I continued being a computer science major learning topics like computer architecture, coding, Linux, and calculus. During the fall semester of my sophomore year, I was also hired for my first on campus job with housing and residence as a front desk worker in Owen’s House. At this job, I obtained more organizational skills with making sure behind the counter was organized and ensuring keys and mail were in their proper places. Working with housing and residence life also provided me with more customer service skills. I also learned time management because I had to arrive on time and ensure that the task assigned were complete before closing time and if not, make sure that inform the next worker what had not been completed, so they knew how many tasks they had during their shift. I also obtained interpersonal skills. Each semester I was there I would have to submit surveys and answer questions about how I felt it went and how I felt I did. Then, I would be pulled into a meeting with my supervisor who evaluated how we did and inform us on things about ourselves we could improve upon. But during this time my mental health began to decline because not only was I enduring the workload of my major, but I was also balancing it with this new job. This mental health decline is where I decided computer science was too much for me to handle at that time and switched to cyber security which was an easy switch due to many skills I acquired, such as programming, problem-solving, networking, and systems management, are directly applicable to cybersecurity roles.

The summer after my sophomore year I got a new job at a fast-food restaurant back home called Biscuitville. This establishment is an extremely popular restaurant back at home that serves breakfast, so it teaches me how to handle being in a fast-paced environment. Also, I constantly gain customer service and problem-solving skills dealing with constant interactions with customers being placed at the front register or on the outside drive through line. While being here I have also gained so much patience and learned how to de-escalate situations because it is well-known in the fast-food industry you interact with several different difficult and indecisive customers. Due to Biscuitville only being open during the hours of 5am to 2pm it also reinforces my time management skills not only to get to work on time, but after my shift to make sure all me at home chores are completed and I am in the bed at a decent time. I currently work at this place still during school breaks. Also, during the fall semester of my Junior year, I continued working with housing and residence life, but due to individuals continuing to quit and me and my coworkers constantly having to go over our permitted work hours (20 hours) I quit because it was now getting in the way of several aspects of my college life.

During my fourth year at Old Dominion University, I went back to work with housing and residence life, but I worked with a different building which came with different issues due to it being an older building. During this current semester which is supposed to be my last semester I am taking an entrepreneurship class. In this class it is supposed to teach us how to utilize our creativity and innovation, marketing and people skills, to become a successful entrepreneur. I am retaking my IT 315 class, and ethical hacking and pen testing class. Also, I have been hired at a new job with Old Dominion’s event set up which handles set up for not only special events but also sets up and takes down the dining halls.

Over my years I have spent at Old Dominion University and outside of my schoolwork, I have developed various skills that I will have to apply to endeavors in my future career path. These skills I have obtained are skills such as organization, time management, communication skills, problem-solving skills, etc. Not only have I gained these typical skills you gain in the work field, but I also gained new technology-based styles of carrying out work due to covid, such as work from home jobs and zoom meetings. During my final months at Old Dominion University, I hope to attend the career and internship fair next month and possibly get my foot in the door in cybersecurity field and explore my options of what I want to make of this degree. Also, I would like to obtain several certificates to refine my skills in cybersecurity and have not only my degree from Old Dominion University but have certificates to display my proficiency in the field.