Victoria Sanderson
CYSE 368
Spring 2026
Professor Teresa Duvall
Vital Solutions
Reflection Paper 2

For the past two weeks, I’ve been working; there have been multiple new things that I had to get my hands into. The main thing I had to get into was the hardware devices and organizational communication that my job uses on a daily basis. That includes learning how to be practical and to sort them all out from one another. Leading me to contact some of the system owners and find the device locations to properly assign them to the right category for future tickets or problems I may have to solve. Then there was a surprise tabletop simulation that everyone in the IT department was required to do.

To help me get accustomed to my job and ensure everyone receives their annual training, a tabletop simulation was held on Feb 10. This was a very convenient time for me to be here, since it would be my first cybersecurity tabletop simulation. During this exercise, I was presented with various scenarios, including detecting suspicious network traffic and responding to potential security threats. The simulation helped everyone get a fresh update on their job. It also showed how to think critically and make real-time decisions while understanding the importance of following proper protocols. The only bad thing about the whole simulation was that most of the questions were something we don’t handle in my group as much, but if it were to ever occur, I would at least know the right answer.

The biggest part of my job this week, apart from the tabletop, was familiarizing myself with the devices and products used within the company, specifically IBM and Cisco devices. This included understanding the basic functionality, configuration, and purpose of each device. As becoming comfortable with these technologies is a crucial part of my learning process, it allows me to get direct experience, so I can hopefully find it without help. This is especially useful, given that we work with a large-scale IT infrastructure that operates multiple devices with distinct functions to maintain network security and efficiency. This isn’t just for me, either; having someone keep everything up to date on the hardware end can help everyone have up-to-date spreadsheets so they can properly do their jobs.

As I further sorted through all the devices and learned where they all went, I also had to learn to communicate with these system owners. This allowed me to further progress in experience in communication and organizational tasks. That was because I had to contact a vast number of users for updates and determine where each device should be allocated. This task required careful attention to detail, clarity in communication, and proper documentation on my part. This was a long and tedious process that will continue to update as people come and go, leading me to learn how to make a well-made spreadsheet and update previous ones. This showed me the importance of keeping IT systems organized and up to date, which is essential for both operational efficiency and security.

Overall, through my experience, I think I’m finally becoming comfortable in my workspace and getting accustomed to all the tasks I have to do. That is because I not only improved my technical knowledge in this field but also learned a bit about networking devices. Then the Tabletop helped me better understand certain situations if they were to ever arise. So I can say these last 2 weeks were a success in my book, and I do hope to further learn more about my job to hopefully make it easier for the long run.