Introduction

My internship was at a company called IPConfigure. This company is amazing to work for and has helped me greatly in many aspects and given me a real footstep into a career. Before we get into everything we can start with the origin of IPConfigure. The company started in 2003 by a man, Chris Uiterwyk, who is a U.S. Navy veteran. The company is veteran-owned and privately held in Norfolk, VA specializing in video surveillance solutions. Now their major products that they sell are servers for security cameras. These businesses they sell too are McDonald’s, Wawa, Panda Express and Family Dollar/Dollar Tree. Now after the servers are sold, they have a support team that is available from 9-5 to call if the server is running into issues or any other concerns. There is also an install team to set up the cameras and servers at the locations that bought cameras or servers. Initial impressions of the company were odd. Personally, I have never worked in a professional environment before as I have only worked small part time jobs at car washes so I did not know what professional meant. On my first day I felt like there was a lot to grasp onto and felt lost at first. After a while I felt comfortable and started to understand how to do the job. Now the initial impression on the company itself was very good. Walking into the building for the first time I was amazed at how modern, and put together everything was. The business looked professional. The reason I decided to do an internship here is because of connections. One thing I have learnt throughout college is that connections are everything. I had a few friends that used to work at this company and they were able to pull small strings to get an interview for me. The company was not accepting new candidates at the time but with the power of connections I had an interview. During the interview and after I was worried that they were too staffed up and I would not be able to get the job because of that, then I got the call and got my start date. With influence and connections is the reason I wanted to go to IPConfigure. Learn professionalism, understand more on Linux, and make an impact were my three goals at this internship. Firstly, learning how to be professional is major and critical. That is one thing you do not learn in high school and you have to learn it yourself and I wanted to as I will be out in the job world soon enough. In my tasks I had to do there I understood a lot of Linux and how to code. It was more in depth than I have learnt in any class before. Using file paths and directories constantly gave me that grasp I needed. Finally, make an impact, in my previous part time jobs I have always started out as a crew member. The lowest one can be in a position. Everytime I have had a job I always want to be the one the manager can rely on and that was my goal. Everytime I was given a new task I would always ask questions not because I do not understand it but because I want it to be right and how they want it. Over time, I was trusted and slowly made an impact by being given tasks and performing the way that the managers wanted it to be done. All three of those objectives shaped how this internship turned out to be. The most important one was making that impact and showing the higher ups I have what it takes. Taking on this internship also gave me a chance to experience what a real career path could look like in the future for me. Which is something hard to understand through college alone. Actually being inside the building and seeing the equipment and meeting the employees made me feel as if I was a part of something meaningful. I noticed that school is not just about getting credits and getting a degree but to try and set up a future for myself. I learned how to step into the world and where I want to be after graduation. I knew right away this would not be like any job I have worked at before and it pushed me to adjust quickly. Even the atmosphere at IPConfigure made it easier for me to grow because the staff treated me like a part of the team instead of just an intern. This helped me build confidence and take my goals more seriously. As I moved through early days of training and began understanding the workflow more. To briefly explain the sections of this paper, the introduction gave the basic understanding of what IPConfigure is and explained where I was first at when I started at the company. Those included what my impressions were and the goals I set for myself. The management environment section will describe the structure of the workplace and how the managers were operating towards me and how their leadership style changed me personally. Work assignments are where it will solely focus on my job and my actual role of what I do at the company. In cybersecurity skills, I explain how I applied my technical knowledge and the new skills I gained along the way. The ODU curriculum section will focus mainly on how my courses and the work I did prepared me for this job. My goals & objectives review the goals I set at the beginning of the paper and go more in depth on what they really are. Motivating aspects will highlight what kept me engaged and wanting to go to work everyday, while discouraging and challenging go more in depth on the harder aspects of what I went through. Recommendations is a gateway for the future interns to know what they are getting into and learn from what I got from the experience. The conclusion reflects back on what the whole experience meant to me overall. All together, these sections show how this internship strengthened my abilities but showed me how much I can really grow.

Management Environment

The management environment is great. This is not a big company as it is privately owned so the headquarters is in Norfolk and that is where I work. The CEO’s office is right around the corner from my desk so it is a very tight knit manager environment. Whenever I need help I can either go onto google chat and message the managers or walk over and ask a question. They are very helpful in this since as they know I do not know everything fully and guide me through it. One of my managers, Stephen, is having a great time. He gives clear instructions and expectations on how to do something and explains it greatly. He is also very funny so you can add humour to that. The managers provide helpful feedback when needed and also will offer good guidance without micro-managing. Micro-managing is one of the biggest things I would run into in my past jobs and one of the hardest things to deal with as well. A simple task then having the manager breathe down your neck while doing it is not a good environment. Here at IPConfigure that is not a problem. There is always a little bit of watching over while I complete a task but that was more so when I was learning. Now, I can be assigned any tasks and not need someone to watch over and correct any errors. Personally, there is always a time for micro-managing and it depends. If an employee has consistently been messing up or spreading a negative work environment around then that is where mico-managing should be used. Another big aspect of this company is the promotion of teamwork. That comes in various ways here and one of the best ways is free food on Wednesday’s and Friday’s. The company chooses a different restaurant weekly and gets catered food for all employees. This boosts morale in the morning if it’s breakfast and gets people to work harder and faster. Another way they provide teamwork is by setting up outside work events. These include free tickets to ODU football/basketball games, bowling, arcades, etc. This is a great way to get everyone involved and get the team on a rolling train constantly. Being a part of this environment has been great and it makes me happy to go to work there and be a part of something great. The structure is set up very well by having a clear chain of command. On our work app, it has a list of every employee which includes their role, a description of what they do, and a picture of them. So if I ever have a question I would pull that up and go find them and ask any question I need. There are very open doors there, so if their office door is open they are always inviting and welcoming. Their responsibilities are organized between different teams. For example, I work on the support side of IPConfigure, and within this department there are different roles between people as in assembly manager, exports manager, tech support manager and general manager. In the end, this is very important and helpful because when I’m working on a specific task I will go to the person in charge of that role. Another good aspect is that all the managers make sure the work aligns with company standards. This is useful in making sure the customers are happy and the team is happy. When you have an angry customer, it means you have an angry manager. That is not a problem here as the standards are set high so these situations do not happen. All of these confluences make my job easier and better. It is making the workflow easier especially during the busy hours. The training is very smooth and the managers are step-by-step with me. Tasks are clearly assigned so there is no confusion about what I should be doing. Mainly, I feel supported rather than stressed, which makes me overall more productive. The managers here are amazing and I don’t know if there will ever be a team as good as these people. The whole company is run very efficiently and effectively. At the end of the day, it’s honest work and that comes with a lot of respect in my perspective. 

Work Assignments

To get into the nitty gritty of my role in the company, I will lay out different roles I do before they are explained. All the roles include assembling servers and exports. To start off with the assembly of servers there are smaller roles inside this. First we assemble the motherboards and prepare them. For the motherboard it uses two sticks of 8GB RAM, an Intel CPU, Cooling fan, SSD card and a NIC card. After that we will get the chassis of the servers. Every company is different so Dollar Tree/Family Dollar have a smaller chassis and Wawa or Panda Express have a huge chassis. For Dollar Tree we take off the back panel and install the motherboard inside the chassis. Then the power supply will be installed with that will come the hard drive. Then it is finished the rest of it is plugging all pieces into the motherboard then powering on the server to make sure everything is running properly. Some companies will require more advanced parts. For Wawa they use a GPU as dollar tree does not so there are sometimes extra installs that need to be added. As soon as the server is on and working correctly it is then time for racking and imaging. This is where we put the servers onto a rack and power them on. Imaging is where we enter the BIOS settings and select certain settings for the server to run proficiently. A few of these settings are setting all the fan speeds (if there are multiple) to high performance, overclocking the RAM to have max efficiency for the cameras, and installing certain softwares that work well with the server itself. During racking and imaging, we go into Orchid and use certain codes to receive the ID of the computer, and put a IPConfigure sticker on the left corner of the server for the customer. Now the computer is ready to be sent to the company. Usually for Dollar Tree we will build twenty six servers and rack/image these twenty six at one time and finally box them up and put the FedEx label on there. 

Exports

Exports are far different from assembling. This is where a company either calls or puts a ticket in to receive certain camera footage that they need. This is crucial depending on the situation for the company. Now per company policy we can not visually see the security camera footage so we have to use Kali Linux to clip the footage. The first stage is enqueueing, this is where I receive the ticket which includes the store number, customer claim number, the cameras we need clipped, and the start date/time and end date/time. After this I go onto Linux and use a command line to choose the company that is requesting the footage. I enter the username and password and rename the ticket number to the customer claim number provided. Shortly after, I will have to find the store number on the list provided by using “/(Wawa 001).” After finding the store I will select the cameras needed whether it’s all cameras or just the registers I will select those. Now comes the date with the start and end time. Finally I send the clipped footage to our support email. The next step is completing the export. This is after the footage is enqueued and sent to my support email. I know I will cd the file that I renamed by using cd (ticket number). Then I use the command lines ls -lah and cat export.conf. These show the files that are needed and I screenshot this and put it into the ticket that was created. Some processes are different per company, as for McDonald’s we download the video footage onto google drive, then throw that onto a USB, and finally put that in a FedEx shipping bag and create the label. Different circumstances for different companies. These tasks are necessary for the business, firstly the companies we sell too can not operate without the servers that we build. When they are built, we build them correctly so the security cameras run with no issue. Having the accurate labeling and matching order ID’s will avoid mix-ups which keeps the customers satisfied. Building twenty six servers at once is the business depending on moving fast but having accurate production so I keep the orders moving and add to the companies sales by doing that. Exporting is very necessary, customers need the footage for investigations, incidents, or insurance claims and we must provide this service as all the data is stored on our servers we have built. The exports team helps clients get the exact footage they need without anyone viewing the video, which is protecting privacy. I am also very fast and efficient on the exports as I have learnt how to do multiple things at a time and keep them organized. Having these exports done correctly is keeping the companies with us and maintaining long-term relationships with our major clients. Without exports, customers would not get the evidence or data they need which would harm our companies reputation. Overall, these responsibilities show how much each task contributes to the company’s operations. Even though the work may seem technical or routine at times every step directly supports the system they have built for clients to rely on every day. By being a part of this team and processes, I was able to see how different teams work together and how much accuracy and professionalism matter in this industry I work in. The experience of working on these tasks everyday helped me understand how my work fits within the larger workflow of the company and how important my role is to keep everything running smoothly. Another part I would like to add is what IPConfigure adds to me that is necessary. Working in both assembly and exports helped me develop strong time-management skills because I had to balance fast production with accuracy. I have gained hands-on experience using professional tools, command lines, and BIOS settings that I have never used before and use them in real IT environments. The job has shown me how important consistency and communication is. For consistency it is more so even one small mistake can make an impact on a customer’s entire camera system. Communication has been gained by talking clearly with co-workers so that everyone is on the same page during large orders or urgent exports. Finally, working under pressure and building my confidence are necessary things I have learned personally. When I am working on multiple exports at a time or assembling multiple servers in a tight window I have stayed cool and collected. Overall this has all built up my confidence to handle tasks alone which is a big step to being more independent in the IT field. This is just setting me up on how I can use these skills in future cybersecurity roles and make an impact later on in life.

Cybersecurity Skills

While working on the job, I have been able to apply the cybersecurity skills I already had while also learning new ones that have only been gained through real hands-on experience. The work I did gave me the chance to use my brain and think back to what I have learnt in previous classes. I still have to learn some areas but I can use the cybersecurity concepts in the day-to-day operations. Now let’s get into what I have known before the job. I have had a basic understanding of Linux in previous classes along with Java and Python knowledge, so using this programming experience has helped tremendously. With these skills I understood what was happening when they were showing me the command lines and file paths they use so I was not confused at all while learning. My familiarity with certain networking concepts as in IP addresses, servers, and hardware components. I also knew a lot of basic cybersecurity practices as a lot of my previous courses have talked about those. I have also learnt a lot of skills on the job. This has been by using Linux professionally to clip footage without viewing it. Running specific command lines for exports, file organization, and ticket processing. Going into the BIOS settings to configure the servers to max performance. These specific skills have helped me greatly in the IT related part of the job. Using these cybersecurity practices in real time showed me the skills I have not learned in my courses. Some skills that are not IT related are time management, organization, communication, professionalism, responsibility, teamwork, and independence. For time management, working under pressure but staying atop of my tasks assigned. Organization would be getting all the servers in the order made in a timely manner but all done at the same time. Communication was learnt by talking to the other co-workers or managers and getting help when needed and not being afraid to ask. Professionalism was a huge part, showing up to work on time and not being obnoxious in the workplace. Even wearing nice attire like a polo has shown me good skills for professionalism. Working on all my tasks and being trusted by the higher ups has shown me the responsibility needed for jobs and being able to be relied on. Teamwork was gained by going to meetings, social events outside of work, and working together during the busy times. Independence was huge for me as I had to go through the learning process alone and not have my hand held 24/7. It proved that I did not need constant supervision and am trustworthy around the tasks that are handed to me. The internship has definitely changed my understanding of cybersecurity. This job is showing me how cybersecurity is not just a theory but that every small step protects the customers data and that the practices taught in my courses are actually being used daily. There have been some errors I have made throughout the job and it taught me how these errors can become big security issues if not catched when I found them. 

ODU Curriculum

The ODU curriculum has prepared me in different ways for the internship and a lot of it was the technical foundation I gained from my major in cybersecurity and minor in IT. ODU courses have prepared me for learning Linux, Java & Python. These courses on these programs have taught me a lot of information on coding and understanding different concepts in that realm. Networking classes as in IT 315 have helped me greatly on the assembler side of the job as I learnt how to use cabling in that class including switches and routers. ODU also prepared me for teamwork and I definitely got a glimpse of that while doing group projects like in IT 201 where it is mainly group project based. To shed light back on the programming courses, those courses also improved my problem solving skills greatly. Whenever I was stuck on something at work I was able to use the knowledge I gained and implement that into work and push through the wall I was at. These all reconcile with what I have learnt at school and apply this knowledge to my internship. Some other hard hitting ones I did not touch on was understanding BIOS settings, hardware pieces, and IP addresses which are all connected to my major/minor. In some courses the connection was very strong between the two as I have taken courses that include labs on windows systems or linux systems. I was able to use these on site at the job. There were some things that ODU did not prepare me for. Using the Linux commands in exports did not match what I learnt in class. In class, I was taught more basic commands like cd, pwd, ls, mkdir. In exports we were using ls -lah, cat export.conf, wawaftsipc, and other commands that were not learnt in class as they are specific for the job itself. Certain privacy rules we did not learn, as I would learn information about mutli-factor authentication which is a strict privacy rule. Our company policy will not allow us to view the footage so learning specific privacy rules is something I had not planned on learning going into the job. Work overload is something I did not prepare for. Being in college, I have had moments where a lot of assignments are due and I have to crunch time especially around finals season. In the work environment though it is a different ball game and having to keep up with the work load could be stressful at times. One because my job relies on me getting it done and getting it done correctly. Two I want to show off the good impression that I can handle everything correctly during the buy times. To go back to the professional environment, I was not prepared for that. Actually having to dress nicely and professionally is something that I did not know was going to happen. It is a fun part of the job though as it makes me feel more comfortable rather than wearing a part time job shirt that has the company’s name on it. To talk about experiences that reinforced school learning there are definitely some factors. Linux commands started to make more sense once I used them on a daily basis. Troubleshooting issues felt like real versions of class assignments I have done in the past.Networking basics were reinforced through server setup. These all added a plus to what I have learnt on the job and in school and have been very useful throughout the days I work. New concepts I learnt on the job was a lot. Racking and imaging or configuring new servers for clients was a whole new area that I had not known about in the past. From assembling the motherboards to plugging them in the rack and going on the BIOS settings or installing new hardware onto the server. They were all things that I had no idea about. I feel very confident doing that aspect of the job. Another new concept I had learnt was going through Orchid and matching servers ID’s to the computer that was assembled and putting the sticker on the server with the matching ID. Using professional communication and time management in an IT setting was something I had not known before. Working at previous jobs, I have had to be professional but not how it is now. Talking to higher ups in a more serious, mono-tone voice is a part of professional communication. Time management was a big concept I had learnt. That was more so by being on work on time, showing up to meetings on time, and getting my assignments done on time. Lastly, handling sensitive information at a much higher level than in class was a major part. Having all the passwords to the IT department was very trusting as if they were to get leaked it could compromise the business and infiltrate hackers to get in. That was one of the first things I had learnt, do not share the passwords, and always use multi-factor authentication. In the IT world now, you have to be careful about who you’re around and where you store your passwords. These were basic ideas learned in cybersecurity and the safe practices that come with it. IT was more in depth though on the jobsite itself and taken a lot more seriously. Overall, the internship helped me bridge the gap between what I learned in the classroom and what actually happens in the field. It showed me how useful ODU coursework really is and what I gained from it. I applied it to real systems and real customers. At the same time, it introduced me a lot to new skills and tools I have never used before and things I would never be able to get from a textbook. The experience gave me a stronger, more realistic understanding of cybersecurity and helped me feel more prepared for future roles in the industry.

My Goals & Objectives

In the beginning, the introduction of the paper, I have explained a few goals to start off that I wanted to accomplish in my time here at the internship. Learning, professionalism, understanding Linux more deeply, and making an impact.  Learning professionalism at the internship was a huge thing for me. I have never had that experience before and I learned how to act in a real office environment. Learning workplace etiquette, how to talk to managers, communicate clearly, and carry myself in a professional setting were some of the smaller goals I learnt while completing this accomplishment. Something I have not talked about was working quietly, calm, and collected. Working in that environment made me zone in and focus more clearly on the tasks I needed to complete. The meeting expectations were a big thing. Going into the room and talking about game plans with the higher ups and speaking clear and concise on objectives. The only thing that helped me with that was public speaking but I did learn how to talk about these projectives in a professional manner. Understanding Linux more deeply was a big goal of mine. Using this database in exports every day gave me a new understanding that I wanted to learn. I can use these experiences later on in life when I get another job after college ends. I can even use these in future classes that I will take and apply those skills. It also gave me a level of comfort and confidence with Linux that I never had before. I can fully say I completed that goal to my best ability and am proud of it. My biggest goal by far was making an impact. This is something I try to do at every job I have. I have always started out at the lowest tier you can get in a job such as in crew members or assemblers or interns. My goal is to always do my best, honest work and work my way up. By doing this, I try to make an impact so I really make sure I do everything correctly, don’t get in trouble, and make my way to the top. The way I look at it, if I make an impact the managers will rely on me to handle certain situations and I can use that in future references to jobs I take or if I try to apply for a position within the company that is more up the ladder. I try to not do the bare minimum and instead go beyond that. Doing the hard tasks can be overwhelming but once they are complete, I know it, I understand it, and everyone above me will see what I am doing. I give new ideas to the table during the meetings that could benefit the company, they might not always be the best of ideas, but they can be a foundation of what we can build off of. So for the question, did my goals get fulfilled, yes. Every goal I had in place exceeded greatly. I learned how to carry myself in a professional environment, learn more on the database we use, and make that impact I wanted. These goals have made me prove myself to the company and contribute the most I can and sometimes more than that. It is a great learning experience and I think I will continue to use these goals in the future to complete other jobs. They set me up for success at the end of the day.

Motivating Aspects

There were several motivating and exciting factors of my internship that made the experience meaningful and enjoyable. These moments kept me more engaged in my work and showed me why I want to be in the cybersecurity field. First, feeling myself improve day to day, I got faster and more confident with my tasks. Next was the feeling of being relied on by my managers and gaining that trust with them. It started off rocky at first but after gaining that trust it helped in my ability to get the job done. Staying organized and hitting those deadlines made everyday feel productive. When I leave work each day I feel accomplished. Understanding that my work matters because mistakes can make a big impact on the company whether IT related or customer relations related. That gives me the edge to stay on top of my work. Company outings really motivated me. Working at a medium sized company there are a lot of people I do not know, so having free tickets to basketball or football games and getting to connect with these co-workers made me feel welcomed daily. Having free breakfast or lunch in the mornings gives me the energy I need to get through the day. Another motivating part of my internship was seeing how my work connected to the bigger picture of the company. When I would complete a server build or finish an export, I could see how it directly supported the business and the customers of the company. This was making an immediate impact personally and made me feel more important on the job and kept me driven. Another good motivation is even when it is slow there is usually always something to do, whether its cleaning up or preparing new orders. I always find a way to keep myself busy if possible to not lose the motivation. Having support from my co-workers was great all the time because they would be there for me when I needed the help and never refused. It shows how much impact others have around you especially in a workspace. So being surrounded by people who were knowledgeable and willing to help push me had me raise my own standards to be like them. It made everything a lot more enjoyable. All of these factors made it feel rewarding everyday and pushed me to stay focused and motivated daily. It showed that working in a technical environment is where it’s at. My effort I give has a real impact on the company and the customers so the excitement I feel from learning these new skills gives me a clearer sense of the kind of career I want to pursue.

Discouraging Aspects

There are a lot of pluses to this job and what I have learned. Everything comes with negative connotations though and there definitely are a few. In the beginning I felt overwhelmed and confused. Since it was my first time at a professional job, everything was new to me. I still felt like a little kid who had not grown up yet. Over time I understood how to act and be more serious in certain situations. Being unsure of what to do from time to time was very stressful and it would drop my motivation at certain points in time. The first time I was given a task after my training was over, I was overthinking the task and kept hitting brick walls in my mind even though I understood it. That is where I would take a few deep breaths in and really lock in on what I needed to get done. To add to that, at first I always double-checked my work and sometimes triple-checked my work because I was afraid of failure. It was mentally draining at times but I had soon learned it was okay to mess up, I just needed to speak up about it. Another discouraging moment was when I would try to balance accuracy with my speed. It was not easy at first, and overtime after being accurate the speed came but when it was during the busy times I was a lot slower at first. Before I learned about how the team supports people I felt inexperienced compared to full-time employees at first. Since they have worked here for years and I was only a few weeks in I felt as if I knew nothing on the job and it made it tough to grasp on at first. Even though there were some discouraging moments throughout the internship, each challenge ended up helping me grow. The early confusion, pressure to avoid mistakes, and the busy days all pushed me to adapt and learn quickly. It made me more confident in my skills. Looking back at these difficult parts of the experience were just as important as the positive ones because they taught me how to handle real workplace stress and still perform well. In the end, the challenges made this internship more meaningful and learnful so it will set me up for success.

Challenging Aspects

Along with the encouraging and discouraging parts of the internship there were some major challenges I had to go through. These challenges required me to have patience, problem-solving, and learn how to adapt in a real work environment. When there were slow days with little to do it made it hard to stay focused or engaged with work and felt myself dozing off at times. Repetitive tasks like labeling, racking, and boxing were very tedious and easy to get frustrated on. There were some small aspects of physical strain with heavy servers or holding a lot of boxes at once and standing for long periods of time could be draining. Limited guidance at times where the managers were busy and I had to figure out how to get certain tasks done alone. That was a very confusing part that would stress me out a ton. There were some days where I would come home and be swamped and go straight to bed. Ticket inconsistencies played a big part as well. Sometimes when it’s slow and we only have one ticket coming through every twenty minutes and the ticket was entered incorrectly, I would have to keep waiting until it is resolved. Even though these parts of the internship were challenging, they ended up being some of the most valuable experiences. They forced me to think differently at times, improve my skills, and learn how to handle real responsibilities in a professional manner. Over time, the challenges became easier once I became more comfortable with the work. Looking back, these difficult experiences developed both technically and professionally, and they were just preparing me.

Recommendations

For the future interns at IPConfigure, you can have an amazing experience at this company as long as you come in prepared and understand what the work environment is like over time. Since the job involves both technical tasks and professional expectations, having the right mindset and basic skills can make the first few weeks a whole lot easier. Based on my personal experience, there are several recommendations that would help you exceed the position. First I would recommend coming in with a little bit of experience in Linux. So knowing basic commands like navigating directories, reading files, and moving through the command line will help out a lot of confusion. Also knowing how to understand hardware parts and their job within a computer. A good idea would be to watch videos on how to assemble a motherboard and understand how to insert RAM, CPUs, SSDs, and NIC cards. I also recommend staying organized and asking questions whenever you feel confused or unclear about something. There are always small steps in assembling hardware or doing exports that you have to look out for. A big thing I would do is take notes during training so you can go back and look at those when needed. Just make sure your notes are precise on what you are writing. Also be ready to work in a professional setting. So make sure you come to work looking well presented. Be ready to communicate with your coworkers and handle tasks that can be repetitive at times. There will be some slow and very busy days so prepare for those upcoming. Another recommendation I would give to the future interns is to pay attention to the culture in the office. Get involved in the team outings and try to meet everyone at the workspace as it will make your experience overall better. Potentially start making daily checklists or have a planner in your phone to keep track of what you should do and complete throughout the day. Being open to feedback is a major one as at first you will be confused and mess up on small tasks, so being open to the feedback will allow you to grow and do better the next time. With this being open to feedback, try to problem-solve on your own first and put your mind to the test because you will be surprised how much you know from what ODU has taught us. Overall, just go into the internship with the objective to learn and make an impact as I said before, it’ll make the experience a lot smoother. In the end, preparing for this internship is all about having the fundamentals that were talked about and being open to learning new things. Knowing Linux, understanding the basic hardware, and being comfortable with communicating with others will make your transition a lot easier. With the right preparation and mindset, future interns will be able to adapt quickly and grow their skills just like I did. I believe they will make the most out of their opportunity at IPConfigure.

Conclusion

At the very end of this journey, my internship at IPConfigure has been one of the most valuable experiences of my academic and professional career. When I first walked into the office, I had no idea how much I could grow and how much confidence I would gain. What started as a slim opportunity turned into something great and became a major turning point of my life. I got to build connections and communicate with others like I never had before. I gained maturity and responsibility here in just the short amount of time of a few months. I completed my goals I had set aside for myself and gained skills that go far beyond what you would learn in a textbook or classroom. The work I did everyday wasn’t just busy work, it had real consequences, real customers, and real expectations that pushed me to stay focused and detail oriented. The assignments I completed, whether assembling servers or handling exports, showed me the importance of accuracy, efficiency, and teamwork in the IT world. I was able to see firsthand how different departments worked together and how data privacy had to be enforced. Throughout all the challenges I faced I was able to push through them and finish the day off strong. I gained new abilities in time management, problem solving, and independence. By getting through all the difficulties, I proved to myself that I can handle real responsibilities and adapt to certain situations whether they are new or overwhelming. The internship reinforced the value of what I have learned at ODU. My courses in Linux, networking, programming, and cybersecurity basics all connected to my work somehow or someway. At the same time I learned fully new concepts that I had not known before. The combination of school knowledge and hands-on experience gave me a much more complete cybersecurity as a whole. Most importantly, I met every goal that I set for myself at the start of my internship. I got my professionalism, expanded my technical knowledge, and made a real impact. I became someone my managers can rely on, and contributed something meaningful everyday. The teamwork was a great aspect I learnt and I met some amazing people. Going to outside work social events and being able to connect with them outside of work made me motivated every day to come back and keep the grind going. In the end, IPConfigure didn’t just give me a simple internship, it gave me clarity. It showed me the type of work environment I want to work in and the kind of professional I want to be later in life. I want my career to be like this when I get older and learn more skills about this field. The ones I have learned will carry me on beyond college. It gave me the reality of the cybersecurity world and I am grateful for the opportunities that have arisen, the people I met, the lessons I learned and the confidence I have gained. The confidence will carry on in other workforces after college and this will be a great resume builder at the end. Lastly, I need to thank ODU for this opportunity. It allowed me to take part in this internship and without the foundation I have received from my courses and the support, I would not have been as prepared as I was going into this. ODU helped me lay the foundation and build up from there. Looking forward, I know this internship is only the beginning of my journey in cybersecurity. The experience has opened my eyes so much on how much there is to learn but it also showed I am capable of the responsibilities that come within this field. I now feel more motivated than ever to continue building on these skills and take on new challenges that come my way. Everything I learned at both ODU and IPConfigure has prepared me to move confidently into future steps into my career and I am very excited to see where this path leads me overall. I know I can use everything I have learned outside of work too and apply the skills I have learned. I can use these aspects on personal challenges that come my way and push through tough times if needed with the problem-solving skills I have learned. I can now even work on personal items at home like my home networks, troubleshooting issues, or future personal projects in my spare time. This gave me practical skills in life I can use daily and teach them to others who are just getting started in this career. I will always be grateful and blessed to have this opportunity I went through.