Hello Everyone!

This is arguably the most exciting and important page on my website because it is all about me, and my background. It is exciting because I am awesome, and it is important because you need to have a reason to want to continue clicking through my my thoughts and my travels in getting my degree in Cybersecurity.

My professional life:

As of this day, 05 Feb 23, I am active-duty in the U.S. Navy. My rate and rank in fancy terms is Aviation Structural Mechanic First Class (Aviation Warfare) Elizabeth Barry and in more simplistic terms, AM1 Barry. Structural mechanic in the finest Navy in the world means that we work on the structure or the skin of the aircraft, the landing gear, the hydraulic system, and flight controls. This may seem like a lot, and you will not hear any argument from me on that account. Being an AM in the Navy is intense and hard work, and I love it! It was very hard to imagine 13 years ago, when I looked at my first helicopter, that I would ever know how to fix something that defies the laws of physics. Since I loved the Navy and wanted to be successful in my career, I knew I had to work hard and push myself as I never had before. And I do. To date, I have earned eight Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, Navy Unit Citation, Meritorious Unit Citation, two Battle “E”, four Good Conduct Medals, Afghan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medals, the Meritorious Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, three Oversees Deployment ribbons, and two Associate Degrees. My military career and my time in the Navy has shaped me into a better person, and I am so proud of every achievement I earned individually or being a part of an awesome team. I was well on my way to completing my 20 years of service, but unfortunately, I have to medically retired so my career in the Navy has been cut short, but to drive to help people has not changed. Thus, my determination to complete my degree in Cybersecurity.

My personal life:

I am 42 years old and have three beautiful children. I call them children, but two of them are adults with their own lives, and a junior in high school. My oldest child is 22 years old and joined the Marine Corps right out of high school; after a long road, he fulfilled his lifelong dream to become a Force Recon Marine. After seeing more of an opportunity to work special forces in the Army, he has recently began his time and training in this branch of the armed forces. My next child is a 19 year old sophomore at James Madison University and is pursuing a degree in Computer Science. He is very smart, and I know he will succeed within that career. My daughter is a 15 year old Junior in high school, and she loves to be a teenager in the good ways and has dreams of being a track star. I joined the Navy at 28 years old and had all my children before I signed up to serve my country. I feel blessed that I started my Navy career this way because there was a maturity that I possessed that made me more successful in all aspects of my life.

My career goals:

My career goals are pretty simple: I want to be a white-hat hacker for a DOD agency. Unfortunately, I am getting medically separated from the Navy so I would like to finish my 20 years of federal time for full retirement. Luckily, my interests in cybersecurity gives me many opportunities. My dream job would be working for the NSA, FBI, or CIA, but I’m pretty sure I need to learn the ropes before I can convince them that I am an awesome asset to have to any organization.