There are many skills including soft and hard that I have obtained through my academic career studying cybersecurity here at Old Dominion.

Leadership

The skill that I would like to address would be a “soft’ skill, this skill still ranks as high as my other skills regardless of classification. The “soft” skill that I had gained from my CPD 494 course was leadership, I still use this skill daily. Professor Batchelder made our class study the nature of being a leader then eventually write a philosophical essay about our personal lives relating to leadership. I thank professor Batchelder for this course because it had instilled confidence within me to make the right decision and take control as a leader even when confidence feels invisible.

Philosophical Leadership Essay

Personal Leadership Philosophy 

Isaas Lozada

Old Dominion University

CPD 494 

Professor Batchelder

7/6/25

Personal Leadership Philosophy

It is quite interesting how the world works, the timing of this assignment couldn’t have arrived at a better time. I have a younger sister who is about to take her first steps off to college. It has not hit me yet. I like to think at least, but I know that lingering feeling of an empty void is near. I have had this feeling gradually over the past couple of months. This feeling has been growing stronger and stronger the closer “move-in” day arrives. I remember the feeling of going off to college for the first time, eager to step out into the world and accomplish dreams while earning memories of life! I also remember how alone I felt at times, I remember the times where I had felt that I was too far away from family to feel loved. These are the moments that I fear for my sister.

I have always been a leader to my sister. I was always told from a young age that my sole duty was to protect my sister and to make sure that she did better than me. I remember when I was younger, I would often skip my little sister’s soccer games. I missed all of her middle school tournaments and a good portion of her high school experience. I still have pain that was burned into my heart, feelings of regret, due to selfish decisions. I still have vivid flashbacks from my memory, where I would have conversations with my mother about my sister’s games. She would beg me to come support my sister and it hurts now to think about but I would deny her request. Instead, I would respond with a half-brained excuse or a fictional story so that I could waste time with friends or past relationships. My little sister continued practicing and learning while strengthening her work ethic. My little sister was very good at soccer, she was an athlete, brave, and was honest. These traits were expressive and were displayed during her playing style. Her game was good enough to get recognized by a college program that offered him a scholarship. 

I caught the later half of her high school career during late sophomore year. I had watched her play at a local private school that offered her a scholarship to play soccer. I cannot put this emotion into words, but when you see a version of yourself accomplishing something that they had worked so hard for, it is surreal. I saw my own face within my little sister dribbling and creating offense, cheering with fans, hugs from the coaches and teachers. I saw myself, it was one of the most beautiful moments I had ever had in my life, it was like I was connected to her and could feel every emotion guided through her body. I fell in love with the experience, I had instantly become immersed within her journey.

I was driving and taking planes from California to New York due to this beautiful dream that my sister was chasing. I would be logging her hours of sleep, making sure she is training, spending time with her to keep her happy, and involving proper nutrition. It was like I had a bug implanted within me, I was illuminated by one goal and that was to make my sister happy. It wasn’t always like this though, I had mentioned prior I used to skip all of my sister’s games. It wasn’t very long ago that I wasn’t in attendance for her games, that was until the great reset. My entire mindset was changed by two influential figures that showed me what it was to be a leader.

My grandfather was one of the prime examples of leadership in my life, while a man that goes by the name of Joseph S. Patton was the other prime example I admired. My grandfather had always had it hard his entire life, he comes from humble beginnings, he was born in Ecuador to a single mother with a family of 11 other children. He was missing a finger on his left hand, it was his ring finger, this was due to an accident that he had suffered when he was a child. He would work in a sewing factory at the ripe age of 9 years old, this is where he had lost his finger due to a tragic work accident. 

My grandfather was the only child of his entire family to make it to America. He taught me invaluable lessons, growing up he had always looked up those older than him and more successful. He said it was like cheating, he insisted that they had already gone through the part of discovery so now they show you the path to success. My grandpa was wise in ways I could never understand, he was always inspirational to me because I thought “hey, I have the same blood as him, I can do what he has done.”  I will never forget the day my Grandpa put sense into me as a “Leader”. 

It was to my sister’s tournament, my grandfather happened to be in the kitchen the same time I had entered. I had attempted to time my entrance at a time where the entire family was gone at the soccer game but I failed. My grandpa had asked me “why aren’t you at the game?” I had replied with a stupid excuse that my grandpa could see right through. I thought he was going to let me slide, I was wrong. There was a different feeling with this conversation, I could see the look in my grandpa’s eyes. He pulled me in closer, he said “Look Isaas, you are on your path to college, you are a role model for your sister. You are all that she knows.” 

I was just staring at him blankly, then he motioned for me to follow him, he opened the door of our shoe closet. Ripping out shoe after shoe throwing them onto the floor. He identified my shoes and my little sister’s shoes. He showed the pairs of shoes I had in comparison to my sister, and he started to yell. My grandpa pointed and yelled “Look! Look! Don’t you see, you get red shoes, then she follows. You get green, she follows. You are all she knows! Show her love! Support your sister!” 

I had never felt the feeling of maturity, but it had ripped right through my ceiling and had pierced my chest at that moment. From that day forward, I had never missed a practice or game, it was the first time I had cried in front of my grandpa at an adult age. My grandpa had shared the tears with me as well. I now involve little lessons I had learned from my grandpa into my daily life, while also still applying new lessons I learn daily from my grandpa. 

The second most influential figure in my life regarding leadership philosophy, would have to be Joseph S. Patton. A military man, middle School and high School teacher, football and  basketball coach, beloved community leader, and the leader of “Band of Brothers.”  Mr.Patton was my history teacher during middle school, I had gone through a rough patch during that time due to moving areas. I was a new kid, but after one history class, automatically Mr.Patton requested that I stayed after class. I was extremely scared because I thought that I had upset him. He was very intimidating as well, tall and slim with a blonde shaven head paired with ice cold blue eyes. 

He asked who I was and if I liked the school so far, we had continued to converse but he abruptly halted the conversation and asked if I wanted to be a part of his after school club. He said the club was called “Band of Brothers” a group of the smartest and fittest students aspiring to be the best men they can be! He told me that only a select number of students were part of this “secret” group and that it was by invite only. I had no choice but to agree, I couldn’t wait till after-school, the words said by Mr.Patton just raced through my mind. 

The final bell rang, I still remember walking down the hallway into the room. The lights were dim up front but bright in the back, the song “hall of fame” was playing at max volume, Mr.Patton was sitting in the back with a bunch of sports equipment. There were about ten other students there while three more ushered in after me. Mr.Patton exclaimed “Welcome to Band of Brothers, to work hard, we must play hard!” he yelled and then ran out of his classroom. All the other students followed him laughing and cheering like this was a normal routine. 

We had chased Mr.Patton to a giant open field, this is where we would play sports like football and kickball. After playing, we would return to his classroom, we would discuss our goals and watch awesome videos that we found motivational. He taught us how to tie a tie and how to properly shave, he even brought a grill to display the perfect technique to cook a burger. Mr.Patton also took our group to multiple field trips, museums, sports games, and restaurants.

Once 8th grade was over, our entire fleet of Band of Brothers had to say goodbye to the future class, we also had to shake hands with Mr.Patton. That was one of the saddest days of my life. I remember Mr.Patton with tears in his eyes handing us a book labeled “the men’s survival guide.” He gave us each one individually after the handshake, he told us that we will accomplish great things, he loved us and to never give up. He closed the door on us and as bittersweet as that exit seemed, it was what was needed. I will never forget the lessons given to me by Joseph S. Patton and my grandfather, those lessons not only shaped me as the leader of my life, but a leader to my sister, and how to make the best choices not for myself but for everyone else.

Linux

I would like to highlight this skill to identify my proficiency in the program language Linux, this would be considered a “hard” skill that I had obtained through a series of exams and projects given by my CYSE 270 class. The course at its core, instructs students on how to use both both graphical and command-line interfaces. The course teaches students how handle all core tasks, from the initial installation and configuration all the way to user management and security. The course also ensures that students understand the importance of security, which involves setting up firewalls to deal with intrusion detection. The course is designed by using hands-on labs to form the fundamental skills every cybersecurity student needs.

Linux Proficiency display in Lab

Data Analysis

The final skill that I want to identify would be Data Analysis. This skill would be considered a “hard” skill, I had gained this tool through Professor Gladden’s CYSE 495 course. The entire course featured data analysis, because as students we had to identify and mitigate all potential threats that could harm election security. One assignment that displays this skill perfectly, would be the final research paper that we had to write. My final research paper had featured the examination of voter’s data in the country of Ecuador, where there were clear signs of manipulation, ransomware attacks, and disinformation tactics throughout the entire election. This direct paper can be found under page four located on the “home” page.