As a senior in the ODU cybersecurity program, I have been able to learn a lot about the cybersecurity field. On top of that I was able to pick up beneficial skills that I can use to be able to get a foothold in the field and be able to start and grow my career after graduation.  

                Classes such as CYSE 270 and CYSE 301 gave me the knowledge on how to operate the basics of Linux as well as being able to get an understanding of the networks, such as being able to monitor traffic, vulnerabilities, and managing firewalls. I believe that the class that gave me the most benefit from taking was CYSE 270 just because of how I was able to learn skills such as scripting, being able to go into a computers terminal and changing the permissions for different users and managing the software.

                 A class that I believe is important for everyone to take prior to graduation is IDS 493, I sat this because it is a course in place to help students be able to build and improve an ePortfolio. In the class our work was broken down so that each week we are working on a page of our portfolio.  I also learned from taking this class that not only is the content important on the ePortfolio but how it looks and presented is just as important. And on top of that I was able to see other students and professionals’ portfolios in order to get a better understanding of what an employer might be looking for in one. From that and what I have learned from my own research I have noticed that certain aspects of my portfolio need to be added to, starting with earning some cyber certifications and then on top of that being able to earn an internship. Both of which I am currently working on and once I have gotten my certifications and have completed an internship, I can take what I have learned from both and be able to add to my ePortfolio. When it came to building my ePortfolio I found it slightly difficult trying to keep a color pattern when adding images just because of how I am looking at the pages one by one instead of the whole picture, but I believe that is something that I can improve on as I continue to work on it.  Another thing that I found to be slightly difficult was finding work from past classes that I felt would be a good example of my knowledge on certain topics. Overall, I think the class was very beneficial and I will be able to take the lessons and skills from this class onward whether it be to continuing the work I have now or even starting over.

                With my departure time at Old Dominion University becoming a closer reality, looking back on the classes that I have taken, and the lessons learned I am glad that I was able to take this opportunity to attend. Some of the classes prepared me more for the cyber world than others and some classes helped me be able to narrow down what area of cybersecurity I want to focus on more than others.  No matter where I go in the my career I know that I can always use the ePortfolio that I was able to build from IDS 493 and add to it to keep it updated so that it can be looked at by any future employers.