Personal Narrative Essay

Abstract

            The paper will provide an overview of my academic journey from deciding my focus in college to present day. Topics will include assignments, projects, internship experiences and personal growth along the way. In this paper I will also discuss how my interest in Cybersecurity came about and the different majors and interests I have come across while focusing on my academic journey in Cybersecurity. Events I have participated in, and extracurricular activities will be included and also what I have gained and learned from them. This paper will include networking experiences and where those connections have led me to now. The paper will cover this content in chronological order from the past to the present.

Introduction

My academic journey has been a roller coaster of ups and downs, and twists and turns. Throughout my academic journey I have learned a lot about myself and things that interest me both personally and career wise. It all started in the time between my high school graduation and starting my first semester of college at Old Dominion University when I initiation chose to major in Computer Engineering as I have also been interested in computers since around middle school. After reviewing courses, I would have to take for a Computer Engineering I noticed that there would be a number of math courses I would have to complete. Knowing myself, I am not the best person at math, so I chose to go a different route before the beginning of the first semester of my freshman year and decided to switch to a Cybersecurity major. I am thankful for this decision because I think it saved me a lot of time rather than switching later finding out that Cybersecurity is my true passion.

Freshman Year

            Starting my freshman year, I was taking a combination of general education courses and Cybersecurity focused courses because I was ready to dive into the material related to my major instead of waiting until sophomore or junior year. It did not take a that much time to get adjusted to college considering I am more of an introvert and do not really like going out unless it is for class, work, food, alone time, etc. I also was very disciplined before hand and also had good time management and getting things completed on time.

            During my freshman year I wasn’t that outgoing and putting myself out there. During my first semester it was of a routine for me to only go out to take care of responsibilities and spend the rest of the day doing school work and some of my hobbies which include video games, working out at the gym, and reading occasionally. The second semester of my freshman year I took a LEAP (Learn and Earn Advantage Program) class which would help students find a temporary job on campus. Luckily for me, I was able to land a temporary job in the ITS department here at ODU which helped introduce me to IT and gave me some hands-on experience which I am thankful for. With me completing and passing all of my freshman year classes and given the ability to gain some IT experience, I would say my freshman year was pretty successful and gave me a good start to my academic career here at Old Dominion University.

Sophomore Year

            Moving on to my sophomore year at Old Dominion University, which was yet another successful academic year for me where I was given a great opportunity. I started to put myself out there in the world more by going to networking events and meetings where important people in the cybersecurity field speak. It wouldn’t hurt for me to attend these events as for a cybersecurity major it is very crucial for me to get on hand and internship experience as that would help me stand out to employers outside of my graduation.

            At these networking events I was able to meet other students and other awesome people that work in cybersecurity that were able to provide me some insight and tips about the future of the field and things that would help me in where I want to go. While attending other networking events that consists of organizations or senior roles in the industry coming to speak, I got introduced to groups outside of Old Dominion University that are centered around Cybersecurity that I could join and take part in their events where I could expand my network to a higher extent.

Summer 2023 Internship

            During the second semester of my sophomore year, I was given an opportunity from a regulatory agency in Richmond, Virginia which is where I am from. The intern position I was able to get was dealing with computer hardware such as computers, hard drives, printers, tablets, etc. I was working with 2 other interns on this project to replace hardware for employees and help resolve technical issues employees where encountering. I used this opportunity to network with employees at this agency that work in their IT and information security department to get insights from them considering they are in the space I want to be at in the future.

            Working as a team I was able to get things done efficiently with the other student interns. I got to network with other student inters at the agency as well that were not in my team but worked in other sectors. Throughout the entirety of the internship there were events planned for us such as resume workshop, lunches, meeting, and trips to important buildings in the downtown Richmond, Virginia. Even though this internship was not exactly what I wanted to do in the future, it was still a good space for me to understand more when it comes to IT and computer hardware which I think is a good baseline start for anyone interested in pursuing Cybersecurity or IT.

Junior Year

            Transitioning to my current year in college that is about to come to an end, it was yet another year filled with great opportunities and success. The first semester of my junior year I took a normal schedule of classes and successfully passed them all while still putting myself out there more and getting to network with amazing people. While going through my first semester of my junior year, I was still looking for internship experience and any other valuable hands-on experience I can get.

            Moving to the present and the current semester, I was able to get myself another internship opportunity with Old Dominion University and Cova CCI. During this internship my team and I met with two different business and then split off into two teams to perform cyber risk assessments on both business and providing them with reports based on the vulnerabilities and fitting their needs. This is moving more in the direction of what I want to pursue in cybersecurity which is risk management and compliance. I also have another internship coming up at the same agency I interned with last summer working with the information security department and risk management. I am looking forward to it and excited to work with and meet many more people in the field.

Conclusion

To end off this paper, my academic journal thus far has been successful and full of great memories and opportunities. I am starting to take advantage of the resources available to me as a college student as I do not want that to be something I regret not doing in the future. I am beyond grateful for the opportunities presented to me and the amazing people I have met through networking. My ability to be able to open up more from being more reserved has helped me a lot and has been very beneficial to me. Moving forward in the future, I will continue to work hard and put myself in uncomfortable situations to ensure more growth.