Greetings and welcome to my online portfolio! I’m Destiny Jackson, a senior at Old Dominion University focusing on cybersecurity. This portfolio highlights my growth as a writer, thinker, and aspiring cybersecurity professional. Here, you will find my academic work, reflective writing, and projects that demonstrate my skills and development during the semester.
Personal Narrative
Introduction
Reflecting on my journey here at Old Dominion, I often become very shocked that I am a senior majoring in cybersecurity. Frequently, I think about all the challenges I faced and the obstacles that I had to overcome to get to where I am today. All of those challenges and obstacles helped me grow in a tremendous number of positive ways, including personally, academically, and professionally. This essay is a personal reflection of just that; it will tell the stories and experiences that have shaped me into the undergraduate soon-to-be graduate. The good and bad moments I have encountered here at Old Dominion will always have a long-lasting impact on me that I will always look back and be grateful for. I hope to share not only my good memories with you but also my not-so-good ones so you can see my insights that have guided me in my upcoming career.
Decisions
My current position is the result of numerous choices. In the fall of 2022, I enrolled at Old Dominion. Although it wasn’t my first choice for a school, Old Dominion was among my top three college choices. I applied to Old Dominion as I was seeking the ideal college. I got my reward letter and acceptance shortly after I applied. I was so excited to go and visit the university that I booked my tour immediately to go tour and learn about their culture. Due to my older brother having recently graduated in the spring of 2022, I was already somewhat familiar with the school. I was excited when the time came for me to take a school tour. I knew right away after my tour that Old Dominion was the location I wanted to go to and spend the next four years. When August finally arrived, I was excited to start my freshman year of business school on campus. As classes began, I was a freshman, and things were moving along quickly. One day, I got a phone call from my brother as the first semester was coming to an end, and my brother and I were discussing how school was going and my post-college goals. I realized during that talk that although I had a strong interest in business, I knew I wanted to do a little more for my career, and that phone call was confirmation of my overthinking.
The spring semester rolled around, and I changed my major to exercise science. I did this because, as a little girl, I always said I wanted to be a physical therapist. Although I had no interest in learning anything within the medical field, I thought I would take the introduction class to see what it was all about. I quickly discovered that it was not for me, so I felt confused because time waits for no one, and I was so unsure about what I wanted to major in. My brother immediately recommended cybersecurity to me as we spoke. I was intrigued when he brought up cybersecurity since, ever since I was a young child, my grandma had always praised my proficiency with computers and phones. Since my brother received a cybersecurity degree from Old Dominion, I believed that he knew the answers to all of my problems, so I started asking him a lot of them. Immediately before I entered my sophomore year, I changed my major for the very last time to cybersecurity. As I started taking cybersecurity classes, I instantly fell in love with the material.
Hardships & Worries
Just like most any other college student, I was financially worried, which resulted in me finding an on-campus job my sophomore year. My on-campus job was perfect; I worked for the student engagement and traditions office at the main desk in our Webb Center. When I obtained this job, I was very excited because before applying to the job, I had applied to plenty of other jobs and had been constantly denied. However, it was all just a blessing in disguise because at my job I could do my job while also catching up on any schoolwork I needed to do. The money I earned from my job was my free money, which I used to buy groceries and personal necessities, and I had fun with it because I obtained a lot of scholarships in high school.
Soon came another very common worry for me as a lower-classman, and that was housing. Housing came out, and I did not get to live exactly where I wanted, which pushed me to live in the on-campus apartments, which would cause a huge adjustment in my tuition. As I figured this out, I had a mix of emotions because the apartments are nice, but I couldn’t seem to figure out how I was going to afford the tuition rise it would cause me to have. As it was almost time for me to move in, my financial aid was released, and I did not get nearly enough money to move in and continue school. This caused very long days for me, filled with tears and stress and confusion, with many drives back and forth to Norfolk trying to find ways to still attend school. The Friday before classes started, I received a FAFSA notification that everything was covered and that I could move in that weekend to prepare to start my sophomore year. The next school year started, and I was doing very well in my cybersecurity classes and gaining so much hands-on experience. On a gloomy Monday, I received some very life-changing news: my very close friend who attended school with me had passed away. My friend and I did everything on campus together; we were from the same small town and were childhood friends. After receiving this news, I was distraught; I didn’t know if I could continue on with the semester because of my lack of motivation. I had to continue at Old Dominion. However, after taking about two weeks off from school, I told myself I could do it, and I was very close to the finish line. With the help of all the on-campus resources, I finished the semester off with a 3.7 GPA.
Journey Into Cybersecurity
As I build my portfolio, I’m eager to showcase the skills I have learned in the last four years, as I am about to start a new journey in my career in cybersecurity. Although I am filled with excitement, I am also filled with a little fear because cybersecurity is such a competitive field.I have attended numerous job fairs where many employers steadily tell me that this is one of the most competitive fields to be in as of right now. However, cybersecurity is expanding more and more each day because of the rapid development of technology. Due to that, I expect that as I am entering the workforce, it will be a gradual transition, and hopefully, I will be able to thrive in a variety of ways. In my four years of obtaining my degree in cybersecurity, I have learned many different skills. These differ in technical skills, problem-solving skills, and practical experience. My technical skills such as operating systems, which introduced me to Linux, Windows, and Mac, and networking fundamentals, and I am confident that with all of these skills, I will be able to excel in the cybersecurity field. In conclusion, I have experienced various learning moments, plenty of accomplishments, and lots of hardships. Not only did Old Dominion mold me academically, but it also improved my willpower and my outlook on my future. I will always remember the last four years because it has molded me to be prepared to excel in life.