Why It Matters

There is a big difference between learning cybersecurity in a classroom and actually doing it in a professional environment. College gives you the foundation, but the internship is where things get real. No course can fully prepare you for the pace, the responsibility, and the professional expectations that come with working in a live security environment. I think the academic internship is one of the most valuable parts of the LeADERS program for exactly that reason.

The Experience

I completed my IT Security internship at Old Dominion University’s Information Security office starting in October 2024. One part of my role involved tracking down which computers on the university network were responsible for illegal file sharing activity. Another part involved monitoring login activity to catch situations where someone was trying to access an account in a way that bypassed the normal security verification steps. I was doing this across a university with over 25,000 users, so the scale was real and the work mattered.

What I Took Away

This internship was a turning point for me. It confirmed that security operations was where I wanted to be, and it directly led to my current role as a Security Analyst at ODU. I learned how to move fast, document well, and trust my instincts when something does not look right. More than the technical skills, I learned what it means to be trusted with real responsibility.