COVA Cyber Clinic Internship

Reflection #1

Over the first 3 weeks interning with the COVA cyber clinic, I’ve learned a whole lot of valuable information through teaching styles that are significantly more engaging than just basic presentations and lectures. Specifically, working with our guest professor John Baaki has been one of the most unique learning experiences in my college career. From doing his team building exercises at the beginning of meetings to the implementation of the design and possibilities framework into a class presentation, I’ve been able to gain valuable knowledge and skills such as problem solving, collaboration, and design thinking, all of which I can utilize for work later in the clinic, and for my future career. 

During the beginning of the clinic, I definitely felt more reserved and didn’t speak up a ton when it came to discussions, but over time by working in small groups and presenting to everybody, I’ve become more comfortable in sharing my input and adding my perspective to the class. One thing I enjoyed during our first meeting with Dr. Baaki was where I worked with a small group to identify points of “empathy” and “define” for the Heavenly Paws security scenario. Under this environment, I was able to engage in a discussion under less pressure, and collaborating with those people helped me practice providing constructive feedback and actively listening, which I can now integrate into larger group discussions to have more effective contributions.

On top of that, I also learned a great method of creating and building off new ideas within a group by using the “yes add” technique and bouncing ideas off each other to bring the concepts to new possibilities. Dr. Baaki also taught us about the design and possibility spaces framework to have a structure of turning ideas into a plan, and I really can’t understate the importance these technique will bring when I need to come up with security solutions for a real company moving forward

Working with the clinic for just 3 weeks now already has me wondering what a career in risk management might look like. Cybersecurity is a very diverse field and I’m still unsure of what sector I want to work in after I graduate, but if I continue to enjoy working on the next projects in the cyber clinic, I can seriously see myself considering a career in risk management at some point in my future.