In high school I began Dual Enrollment and then went to the Governor’s School of Southside Virginia in my Junior year. Throughout high school I participated in multiple sports including Soccer, Wrestling, and Football and I also participated in my local 4-H club. I went to 4-H summer camp for many years from the age of 9 until I was about 15. During those years, I went from a Camper, to a Camper In Training (CIT), and the I was made a Teen Leader once I was of age. Teen Leaders participate in camp activities the same as a normal camper, but with the expectation of watching over the younger children due to the limited staff available at the summer camp. During the camp, Teen Leaders are responsible for the children in their cabins and we were given training every year on how to effectively and ethically take care of the younger children. I enjoyed 4-H because it was fun, the kids were mostly great, and I learned a lot about dealing with people. If you can imagine, a couple hundred kids all going away to summer camp for a week, they could get crazy sometimes and so it was a humbling experience to have just a glimpse of what parenting is like.

I was also apart of the school robotics team, competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition which I was apart of from 8th grade until my senior year. Unfortunately though, my senior year was cut short due to Covid-19 and so FIRST decided to cancel all competitions that year. I was also participating in soccer this year, and I was supposed to be the team captain given I was one of the only seniors on the team but again, Covid-19 prevented me from being in that particular leadership role.

I graduated from Cumberland County High School and the Governor’s School of Southside Virginia in 2020 with my high school diploma and an Associate’s degree.

After high school, I worked for roughly 1.5 years at a sign production company called Joe Giles Signs. My job at this company was Production Technician (not the official title) and it was my job to make sure production was done correctly and on time. It was also my job to maintain organization of the projects, and to keep logs of where each project is at in the production process. Since this company was small, I did a lot of other things as well such as dealing with customers on an almost daily basis, installing signs, and anything else that needed to be done; I did a little bit of everything. I learned a lot at this company and I plan to use everything I learned going forward.

After working, I began my Cybersecurity major at Old Dominion University in the Fall of 2022. I have of course taken multiple different classes, some of my favorites being Digital Forensics and Cyber Law. My mother is a lawyer and growing up, she emphasized good grammar as well as teaching us about law, and how to interpret them and I am very grateful she did and that is probably why I enjoyed Cyber Law so much. I am projected to finish this major in the Spring of 2024 and plan to complete an internship this summer (2023).