{"id":138,"date":"2024-12-05T03:00:32","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T03:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/cyberimpact1\/?page_id=138"},"modified":"2026-04-27T03:22:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T03:22:43","slug":"cyse-368","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/cyse-368\/","title":{"rendered":"CYSE 368"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center\">Cybersecurity Internship<\/h1>\n<p>This internship was completed at the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), a national political organization based in Washington, D.C. Over the course of 150 hours (3 credit hours), I contributed to the organization&#8217;s technology and data operations, supporting staff through coding projects and data-related work in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment<\/p>\n<h1>Course Material<\/h1>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>Internship Materials<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The following materials document my experience at the Democratic Governors Association. Each item is included to give an outside audience a clear picture of what I did, what I learned, and how I was evaluated throughout my 150-hour placement.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\" \/>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>Internship Journals<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">A record of my activities, tasks, and observations logged across my time at the DGA. The three journals below capture my progression throughout the internship, from early orientation to more independent contributions in coding and data work.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3\">\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Journal 1 \u2014 <a href=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37860\/2026\/04\/Reflection-1-T.pdf\">Internship Journal 1<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Journal 2 \u2014 <em><a href=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37860\/2026\/04\/Reflection-Paper-2.pdf\">Reflection Paper 2<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Journal 3 \u2014 <a href=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37860\/2026\/04\/Reflection-3.pdf\">Internship Journal 3<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\" \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\" \/>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>Research\/Summary Paper<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">A written reflection and analysis connecting my hands-on experience at the DGA to broader concepts in cybersecurity, data management, and political technology.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37860\/2026\/04\/Internship-Final-Paper.pdf\">Internship Final Paper.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Then provide on this page a reflection, responding to the questions below regarding your internship experience.<\/p>\n<div>\n<h3 class=\"p2\">Applying Course Knowledge<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p2\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">My ODU coursework in Python, data structures, and cybersecurity gave me a foundation I could apply from day one at the DGA. Concepts like secure coding and responsible data handling weren&#8217;t abstract anymore \u2014 they were expectations in a real organization dealing with sensitive political information. Building an offline application without network-level protections made me understand that cybersecurity is a mindset built into every decision, not a layer added at the end.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Skill Development<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p2\">I built and deployed real tools \u2014 data cleaning scripts, a web scraper, and an offline application that outperformed the one it replaced. I also learned to read and modify existing codebases, manage software dependencies across shared environments, and juggle multiple projects at once. Beyond the technical, I developed time management, remote communication, and the ability to work through open-ended problems without step-by-step guidance. Personal Development<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p2\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>Personal Development<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">This internship changed how I see my career path. I went in focused on the private tech sector and left genuinely interested in public sector and civic tech roles. The DGA&#8217;s management style \u2014 flat, collaborative, and trust-based \u2014 showed me what a healthy professional environment looks like. Being pushed to find my own solutions rather than be handed answers was uncomfortable at first, but it was where most of my growth happened.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cybersecurity Internship This internship was completed at the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), a national political organization based in Washington, D.C. Over the course of 150 hours (3 credit hours), I contributed to the organization&#8217;s technology and data operations, supporting staff through coding projects and data-related work in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment Course Material Internship Materials&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/cyse-368\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":28410,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28410"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":315,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138\/revisions\/315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/edade001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}