Hi, I am Luke Fabian, and I am enrolled at Old Dominion University in my junior year. Now, I am working towards my bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity. Before enrolling at Old Dominion, I gained many skills in high school at the Advanced Technology Center (ATC). This opportunity allowed me to gain certifications and get a head start before enrolling in college in the cybersecurity field. During my time there, I participated in many capture-the-flag competitions, which allowed me to expand my cybersecurity experience.

Personal Narrative Essay:

Introduction:
Ever since I can remember, I have always been fascinated by technology. Most of my early memories as a kid were either playing videogames or messing around on my parents computer for better or worse. My dad played a major role in sparking my interest in the cyber field. Although my father did not work in the cyber space, he was a Certified Public Account(CPA), he was appointed to his cyber committee at his workplace and he would bring it up from time to time when I was growing up. He would always talk about how important cybersecurity is and how good of a career he has seen people have in it. These conversations were the first “seeds” you could say that helped me grow into the cybersecurity field.
My intrigue grew stronger when I saw an advertisement in high school for the Advanced Technology Center (ATC). This program offered real hands-on experience at a very young age in technological fields. After enrolling in ATC in my junior and senior years of high school this gave me access to hands-on labs, certifications, and exposure to cybersecurity tools. I would say this was the main driving point that made me commit to the cybersecurity path and end up majoring in it in college.
The most interesting drawing point to me for cybersecurity was the complex challenges and purpose of protecting a network that really reeled me in. Unlike just using technology casually, cybersecurity really forced me to find tools and use those tools to problem solve issues. It almost felt like I was playing a video game while solving and researching these topics. While I was in class I found myself more engaged with the course material than I had ever found myself before. I did consider other paths such as computer science or networking. I really enjoyed how you can use both computer science knowledge and networking knowledge in cyber security so I liked the all encompassing nature of cybersecurity. Using both computer science and networking can lead to great results in cybersecurity such as automation, cabling, and network design. The overall sense of trying to protect and secure people or organizations sensitive information really was a driving point in choosing cybersecurity as a major.
My time at the Advanced Technology Center(ATC) was unlike anything I had experienced before. The environment was completely geared towards developing my hands on cyber skills. From the beginning of our instruction my teacher emphasized the importance of using tools with hands-on experience instead of just reading from a textbook. My class started with the basics of networking, learning how a network flows and makes decisions. Applying what I learned about the OSI model and what I knew about network packets, I was able to analyze packets on wireshark and understand the information that these packets carry. After that we moved into online labs such as setting up a basic network configuration using Packet Tracer with a router and a few pcs. When using Packet Tracer I was able to see how computer received and sent data. These labs in packet tracer would require me to configure IP addresses, NAT and other critical information to ensure a network can operate efficiently.
One project I really enjoyed during my time at the Advanced Technology Center was using powershell to automate operating systems patches and updates using scripting. The project was very difficult but in the end very important because of how much automation is used in IT fields. The knowledge I gained from this project allowed me to fully grasp the importance of automation in cybersecurity for all different types of easy tasks. This was the first time that I could grasp what a career in cybersecurity could look like.
The Advanced Technology Center allowed me to advance myself in more than one way. The Advanced Technology Center offered free vouchers for a multitude of different certifications. With all these options open to me I stopped for a second and took a look at myself to understand what avenue of cybersecurity I would like to pursue(Montañez). Looking at all my skills I thought I was prepared to take my CompTIA network+ exam. Which is just an “entry level” certification that can set you up for a lot of different networking and security options in the future. Passing the Network+ exam was such a rewarding moment of all the hard work I put in studying and really reaffirmed again that I really do have a passion for cybersecurity.
During my time in my second year at the Advanced Technology Center, my friends and I were tasked with a capstone project that brought everything we had learned in our first year and over the summer together. We decided on making a portable hard drive that has all the tools a cybersecurity professional would need. Our kit had tools such as Snort, Nmap, WireShark, endpoint response software, and intrusion detection and prevention systems(IDS/IPS). This project allowed my groupmates and I to explore the full plethora of cyber tools and knowledge of how to use these tools. The project gave us a great opportunity to use our time in the program to expose us to a great number of tools and allow us to gain experience with them. More than anything, what I got from this project was even more love for the cyber field and made me feel like I couldn’t have made a better decision on a career path.
Important course work and interdisciplinary studies:
One of the most impactful class that at took at Old Dominion University was Linux for Cybersecurity. This class exposed me to one of the most important tools in cybersecurity, Linux. This operating system, which is somewhat similar to Windows, is one of the most important tools for a cyber professional. But unlike Windows, Linux is made for a more technical approach to handling security and networking. Using a terminal you have to manually enter commands to move around and use the operating system in an efficient way. Our class started with the fundamental commands in the terminal such as pwd, Ipconfig, and directory navigation tool which built a solid foundation for my skills. In the beginning it’s a little bit of a struggle going from Windows to Linux, but with a lot of perseverance I learned to enjoy Linux more than I had widows. Learning Linux was a very important step for me and understanding how operating systems function. The class helped me build a skill that I will be able to use for the rest of my life.
Aside from my technical courses, my interdisciplinary studies also had a profound impact on me. The main course from my studies that stood out was my Criminology class. This class helped me understand criminal behavior and the motivations behind it. Our class studied a lot of the social sciences such as psychology which helped me with understanding the mindset of offenders. We also looked into how conditions that individuals grow up in can affect their probability of offending. Taking these ideas to cybersecurity, I began to approach hackers and cybercriminals in a different manner. I started to imagine the attacker behind the computer and why they would want to attack a network. This class helped me so much with applying my technical skills to the criminology skills I just learned and made me a better student of cybersecurity. My favorite work from this course was our final project we did where my class mates and I made a presentation on a real world cyber attack. We broke down the case using terminology from the class, vulnerabilities we found, and broke down the technical and human elements that lead to the attack. This project led me to broaden my knowledge on cybersecurity by giving me different perspectives to understand certain motivations. I left the class with a great appreciation that I became a better cybersecurity student.
Applied learning:
One of the most important applied learning experiences that I had at my time at Old Dominion University was in my Windows Systems management and security class. This class introduced me to Windows Server 2019 and refined my PowerShell skills to a high level. My favorite lab from this class was when we were making PowerShell scripts to remove and add users to an active directory(AD). This lab teaches you a very real world skill of adding and removing users from the AD quickly and securely. For example say you are onboarding or offboarding employees, these scripts will make it take two seconds for you to remove or add employees. This is great because in a real world scenario if an individual was fired and needed to be removed quickly from the AD it can be done in an instant. This is important in case a disgruntled employee wants to attack the company after being fired. Being able to remove these users will add a security level against a social engineering attack. Another lab I really enjoyed was creating backups for employee workstations. This not only is a very important task to do in an organization, but it can also be applied to your own files at home for safe backups. These labs showed me skills that can have immediate effects on me and helped me learn the Windows side of security.
In my opinion the most important applied learning I did was create a homelab at my house using my PC. Early in my cyber journey I realized I needed a safe space to practice dangerous skills. I started from the bottom many years in high school and practiced basic network configuration like configuring ip addresses, NAT configurations, and firewall settings. Over the years I have expanded my setup to have virtualized Windows and Linux servers. In these servers I could simulate defensive and offensive situations against the servers. I practiced with basic network attack like password cracking using a tool called Jacktheripper. Then I practiced malware simulations in contained spaces to see how the malware interacts with operating systems. The homelab for me was the most important step in cybersecurity and allowed me to make mistakes in a safe area. I developed many skills from this and overall improved my confidence to a different level.
The Future:
Looking to the future, I hope to pursue a career in the cybersecurity field where I can apply all the technical knowledge I’ve learned over the years. I am very interested in working as a cybersecurity analyst or a penetration tester. I really enjoy the pen testing side of cyber security. I would like to achieve the Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) certification during my career. OSCP is one of the top of the line pen testing certification and will take months of studying but I am prepared to put in the effort. Through more CTFs, practice on my homelabs and fishing up my degree, I would love to be able to improve my abilities up to the level of professionals.
Conclusion:
Scanning back through my cyber journey, it really has been shaped through all my experiences in my life. From a little kid messing around on my moms computer, to taking the first step and applying for a special high school program, then through all my rigorous course work at Old Dominion University, to making cybersecurity my passion and making a home lab all made me into the student I am today. Overall, I would not change a choice I made in my life and would do it all over again if I could.