Reflective Essay
Caleb Mayo
Old Dominion University
IDS 493
Instructor Kathryn LaFever
11/16/2024
“The professional holds knowledge, not only of how—the capacity for skilled performance—but of what and why” (Parkes, Dredger, Hicks 2013) is an excerpt that provides reason as to why it is important for a professional to be able to reflect on their work. Not only should you be able to list your past experiences but be able to explain how they affected you and added on to your skill set and knowledge at your disposal to allow you to excel in your pursued role. This is the metric I will use to measure the artifacts of my e-portfolio. My e-portfolio is a culmination of four years of my experiences at Old Dominion University. The new things I have learned, the steps and roads taken towards success all to help future employers and recruiters understand more about who I am. The artifacts in my E-portfolio can best be divided into three important themes that are consistent throughout it: my eagerness to learn, how well skilled I have become, and not being afraid to put myself out there.
Eagerness to Learn
A prevalent theme in a majority of the artifacts in my e-portfolio is my eagerness to learn. Of course, with me being a student attending Old Dominion University I would hope to have learned something. For instance, my coursework in my interdisciplinary courses tasked me with much analytical research on articles, policies, and frameworks. In addition, I also conducted research through my own internship experiences as well, notably my internship as an Information Security Intern at The Library of Virginia where I produced high-level analysis papers on different policies within the State Agency as well as on the uprise and use of AWS as a cloud solution, highlighting the upsides and downsides to its implementation, and possible vulnerabilities that could affect the library. These artifacts required me to conduct my own research, not only to a point where I could understand it, but also disseminate the information to others, and that is a valuable skill that I will need in my career of cyber security. Due to the continuous advancement of technology and new threats always on the rise, a cyber security professional needs to be able to adapt to new technology. A blog post from National University on the essential skills needed for modern cyber security professionals’ states that “Even experts in a field don’t know every single thing there is to know. Being able to fill the gaps of your knowledge in a swift and accurate way can be a critical job skill” (National University 2022). Being able to do so at the university level and also at the intern level has allowed me to develop that skill into one that will be invaluable for my future roles and projects. While my eagerness to learn laid the foundation for my growth, it is the technical skills I acquired through coursework and hands-on experiences that solidified my capabilities in the field of cybersecurity
Skills Acquired
Not only can you see me consistently strive for education in my e-portfolio, but another attribute I think it shows my technical skill and prowess in my field. My academic coursework was essential for myself to learn the fundamentals of different cyber security concepts and subject areas, as you can see through my practice labs exposing me to possible scenarios and situations that a cyber security professional would see such as the interactive operating system known as Linux, and my practice using reconnaissance tools. And in some ways, my practice labs and virtual machines that I used to learn more about cyber security tools and software attribute to my experience. Learning these skills is something that I have had trouble with since I started my career in Cyber Security because I tend to think I can’t be good at something or am not cut out for the skills I want to learn when it doesn’t come easy. And the best way I battled it was breaking down the parts of it that I did know and try to build from it. Being able to rediscover new ways of learning and honing my skills made me a better professional and is showcased within how I complete tasks and assignments. An example I can proudly speak on was when I was interning at Mars Wrigley in Global Cyber Security the Summer of 2024, and although it was a new experience working with a global operation, I recognized different tools they had used before and was able to adapt to their guidelines and procedures quite well. It allowed me to impress my supervisor, as a task he assigned to me was projected to take me days only took hours because I was well versed in the tool beforehand. Using what I had learned from these labs and personal experiences gave me the opportunity to learn more than expected of me. In addition, my industry level certifications the CompTIA A+ and Security+ provided on my e-portfolio add on to my knowledge as its something that shows my hard work and authenticates my knowledge of cyber security fundamentals from a trusted entity in the industry. My resume is also a great artifact that showcases my skills, as it goes into detail about my previous roles and how the relevant coursework allowed me to excel in them. All these artifacts highlight my expertise at a level above those who didn’t take the chance to learn more and understand those concepts, and doing so will continue to give me a leg up on the competition. Beyond technical expertise, my ability to seize opportunities and push myself outside of my comfort zone has been a crucial factor in my personal and professional development.
Seizing Every Opportunity
A significant challenge that I have faced at every step in my career development has been putting myself out there and giving myself chances to grow in different environments. Networking is super important in being seen by potential employers and recruiters and I used to have terrible social skills. That is something that has changed for me and is well reflected through my artifacts in my E-portfolio. The earliest I can recall of this was participating in my first research opportunity, the INNOVATE Cyber Challenge 2022. In this challenge I was tasked to work with a team and use the design thinking process to create and pitch a solution to an industry problem. This project was something I was unsure to take on because I always envisioned myself as a leader, and just starting out in Cyber, I couldn’t lead this project. There was an upside to this, as it taught me how to follow and work as a team. I experienced what it was like to be led, what a team looks for in a leader, and how to play to my strengths for team. And after my team placed in the top three winning research groups, I was glad to say I was apart of it and couldn’t wait to do another. This led me to my first opportunity to be a leader to others, when I applied to be a Senator for the ODU chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. Stepping into this role with no experience in engineering was hard, especially in understanding what black STEM majors needed on campus. Thus, I learned that being a good leader requires you to listen to the needs of those you lead. Doing that I was able to work with my Executive Board to create career development seminars, fun game nights for interaction, and had my other team members more focused in Engineering create the technical seminars. I always knew leading would be a great thing for me to do to help others, but it helped me as well in knowing I helped others grow.
Sometimes those opportunities for you to develop yourself don’t come from you, they come from others. The best example of this from my E-portfolio is when my supervisor from the Library of Virginia asked me to volunteer at the Commonwealth of Virginia 2023 Information Security Conference. It was not exactly something I planned for my weekend, but I agreed to go for the experience. It was probably one of the greatest experiences of my cyber security career so far. I connected with and learned from real professionals and powerhouses in their own industry. They gave me knowledge and advice on how to get the career I want and how to work towards it. I still talk to some of those connections to this day. These artifacts prove that I am not afraid to set myself apart and go for any opportunities to better myself.
Conclusion
My e-portfolio is a reflection of my growth as a professional, guided by the principle that true expertise lies in understanding not only the “how” but also the “what and why” (Parkes, Dredger, Hicks, 2013). By organizing my artifacts into themes of eagerness to learn, skills acquired, and seizing every opportunity, I have demonstrated how my journey at Old Dominion University has been a combination of academic rigor, hands-on experience, and personal development.
The experiences captured in my e-portfolio highlight my ability to adapt to new challenges, acquire critical skills, and step out of my comfort zone to grow as a professional. These lessons have equipped me with the knowledge, resilience, and confidence to excel in my chosen career of cybersecurity. More than a showcase of accomplishments, my e-portfolio is a narrative of learning, persistence, and a commitment to achieving success, offering future employers a window into my journey and my potential.
References
Cybersecurity skills: Soft & hard skills for cybersecurity | NU. (2023, August 7). National University. https://www.nu.edu/blog/essential-soft-and-hard-skills-for-cybersecurity-professionals/
Parks, K., Dredger, K., & Hicks, D. (2013). ePortfolio as a measure of reflective practice. International Journal of ePortfolio, 3(2), 99–115 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1107797.pdf