Introduction: The reflection essay describes the process of creating our portfolio and represents my chosen artifacts and how they relate to the listed skills. On my portfolio, I have my resume, a little about me, and papers I have written for other classes that might help show the journey I have been on since starting college in 2020.

Since starting my cybersecurity education at Tidewater Community College in 2020 and then transferring to Old Dominion University, I have acquired critical thinking skills essential for success within my chosen field—technical skills like ethical hacking or cloud computing infrastructure and deployment. Through the study of cyber law and philosophy, critical thinking skills brought an understanding of the impact of various U.S. laws and legal considerations on informational privacy and the scope of legal and moral responsibility in protecting it. The writing skills that I have developed in English writing classes and the few required Interdisciplinary Studies classes have aided me in effectively communicating the essence of policy recommendations and framing the critical nature of investment in technical and human solutions to complex cybersecurity problems. Even before entering college, through my current career as a school bus driver, I can communicate effectively in all situations.

Critical Thinking Skills

In Cybersecurity, the ability to ask the right questions, assess the data that has been collected, understand context, and identify assumptions and alternatives is as essential as the technical skills you need to be successful in the field. These skills help you make high-stakes decisions about your organization’s security. The exposure to cybersecurity management, philosophy, and interdisciplinary research that I received at Old Dominion University has opened my eyes to the magnitude of cyber threats and the necessity of cybersecurity.

Writing Skills

I am redeveloping my writing ability extensively through research papers, discussion questions, correspondence with professors, and all the necessary college assignments. Becoming an effective writer is needed in cybersecurity as a means of communicating. For instance, speaking to a business about the security plans required to be implemented in writing and verbally is very needed. Over the last four years in college, I have learned new techniques that will be useful in the future.

Verbal Communication

I have developed this skill through life experiences, whether it is talking with a professor at the college regarding an assignment, speaking with a school administrator or parent with an issue on my school bus, or one of my children on my school bus. Being able to communicate with all levels and ages of people is a skill that is ever-changing, just like technology, because just as you figure it out, something might happen to cause that person to change their demeanor, causing your previous communication style not to be as effective as it was before.