Current preschool teacher working for the US Navy in Dahlgren, VA with over 10 years of early childhood education experience. Graduated in 2024 with a bachelors in Cybersecurity from Old Dominion University. Hands on experience with penetration testing, Linux and Windows systems security, computer architecture, Linux and UNIX scripts and a working knowledge of C++ and Python. Ready to take the next big step in my career in Cybersecurity.
Life is a highway of opportunities. Every couple of miles, there are exits you can take, but ultimately, traffic keeps on going. Sometimes, a driver needs to take an exit, be that to get gas, repair or upgrade your vehicle, or find a different route altogether. Ultimately, however, no matter what exit you choose to take, one thing remains the same: traffic keeps on moving.
When I graduated high school in 2013, I was forced to take an exit to find a different route. In high school, due to interests that I had picked up as a teenager, I decided that I either wanted to go to college for sound production design, or I wanted to join the Air Force under the signals and intelligence M.O. Both of these paths in my life had stemmed from involvement in extracurriculars that I was passionate about. I had been a full time cast member, set designer, and sound controller for every play released at my high school from my freshman year until my senior year. From connections I made here, I was able to explore my passion for music and performing, and ultimately decided to join a local high school band to further learn about the technical and functional aspects of live sound design. At the same time, I had been a full time participant in the school’s NJROTC program. The town I attended high school in was a town with a large Navy base on it, so I had figured that this could be an excellent career path to explore as a primary or alternative career if college did not work out.
During my final months of high school, I had sent in college applications, taken ASVABs for a potential future in the military, and researched avenues of furthering my education after high school. I had figured out that the career that I wanted to pursue would be military related. After taking the ASVABs and getting back a high score, I was contacted by Air Force recruiters to begin the process of joining the United States Air Force. Along with this, I had also gotten accepted into Longwood University and Virginia Commonwealth University, but put these on the backburner to focus the next few months of my life into building my military career.
Immediately after talking to recruiters, I focused on the fundamentals of programming and cybersecurity. The internet was not as robust in 2013, and oftentimes finding resources for computer science and cybersecurity related projects was difficult. Despite this, I still attended Air Force sponsored boot camps for coding and was able to learn much in the field in the early months after high school.
When talking to recruiters, however, I immediately ran into a roadblock; my weight. While it is not uncommon for the armed forces to require new recruits to lose a few pounds before MEPS and basic training, I had the opposite problem. At age 17, I weighed 128 lbs at 6 feet tall, putting my BMI into the “underweight” category. To get out of this category, I would need to gain 4-5 pounds to put me into the safe zone. For the next few months I worked on gaining weight, learning code, and exercising as much as I could, but ultimately was only able to gain 2 pounds. The recruiters saw this and still thought it would be worthwhile to send me to MEPS, but I quickly failed out due to being 2 pounds underweight. For the next 6 months I desperately tried to gain enough weight, but was ultimately not able to come close. In my desperation, I tried everything from lifting daily, eating enormous amounts of protein and calories, and drinking water. Nothing was working, and I was beginning to develop a psychological aversion to overeating and drinking. This is where I decided that the Air Force would not be a viable option, and where my professional career and story really starts.
Making the Best Out of Nothing
At this time, I had noticed that the local YMCA that I had been going to was hiring staff for summer camp for the next year. I applied for the position, talked about my experiences teaching children at churches and tutoring with the manager, and ultimately got a job offer on the spot. I had started out as a part time assistant for the K-2 (Kindergarten through 2nd grade) class. This was the first job I had had where I felt like being a good teacher, mentor, and role model directly made a difference. I dedicated all I had to this job for the next 2 years. I had been promoted to a full time position, but ultimately the pay was a minimum wage of (at the time) $7.25.
I realized that I wanted to do something more with this experience and wanted to turn it into a full time career, so I went on a military hiring site and applied to be a Pre-K teacher for a school at the local Navy base. It took 6 months of waiting for me to hear back from them. I talked about my experiences with children, my experiences working with other staff, and my dedication to continue my learning to turn my passion into a career. Within a week, I learned that I had gotten the job. The job was part time, but the pay was double what I was making before. I was finally able to buy a car, get my own health insurance, and save up for college.
The Beginnings of my Education
After gaining relevant work experience, I had decided that I wanted to change my major to Early Childhood Education. I had truly enjoyed the work I was doing, and knew that advancing my career goals via this path was a smart career choice that let me explore my passion. With this major, It was now possible for me to make the jump into full time preschool teacher, as the position required an associates in education. I studied at the local community college, Rappahannock Community College, for 3 years in order to finish my associates. While I studied the important aspects of education that would be relevant to my degree, I also left course spots open to study things like high level mathematics, computer science, and even geology and history. I was able to get a very well rounded education from my associates degree, but this ultimately led me to pursue educational interests I had picked up when trying to join the Air Force.
My life at this point in my life was completely different from what I had envisioned when I was in high school. While most people in my stage of life in the Air Force were re-enlisting for their second contract, I had accomplished a goal of being a full time teacher. While I still did not have a bachelors, it was still a goal I could work towards. I had decided that while being a teacher was very fulfilling, it was not a career I could use to support a family. After a 1 year break, I applied to Old Dominion University as a Computer Science major.
Completing my Education and Starting my Career
The first year at Old Dominion University was a shock to me. The courses required for my education were very difficult and required a lot of studying and heavy changes to my lifestyle. After a year, I saw that job opportunities around me were leaning more towards cybersecurity, a subject that I also had a lot of passion for and hands on experience with. Transferring from Computer Science to Cybersecurity was very straightforward, as the two majors share a lot of foundational and prerequisite courses. I worked as a full time teacher, taking classes online and in person, and was able to complete my bachelors degree within 3 years. While completing my degree, I worked on other skills and certifications to ensure I was competitive in my future career. As a teacher, I completed a teaching excellence credential, and I am currently working on my Security+, Linux, and C certifications for future employers. I have attended job fairs and have been contacted by defense contractors for future employment opportunities.
This new career path that I am currently pursuing is a much higher paying field than that of the early childhood education field. While the pay may be more, the benefits and real-world impact of the job may not. While I am extremely thankful for my time as a teacher, I look forward to this new career path which will open more opportunities in life, such as buying a home and supporting a family. While it took me 28 years to finish getting my bachelors degree, I am thankful for the opportunity, as I got to take my time and really learn the subject material and even explore some of the real world applications of my major. I look forward to making a difference in my field and putting my newly gained knowledge to use.