Hello, and welcome to my e-portfolio! My name is William Johnson and I am currently attending Old Dominion University in pursuit of my bachelors of science majoring in cyber security. Throughout this portfolio I will be showcasing my most marketable skills, alluring artifacts, and a keen reflection for how this all came together. You can find all of which under the “welcome (about me)” tab, but here’s an introduction of me to get you started. Enjoy!
Personal Narrative
Abstract
My personal narrative essay explores the crucible of experiences that shaped my life. From my early college experiences, academic hardships, and work experience, I tell a story about a path of my own self discovery. By implementing the important points made by Nguyen, McAdams, and Smith I have developed a coherent narrative that not only details my experiences at Old Dominion University but my journey becoming a cyber security major and my imagined career path of a cyber analyst.
Early College Experience
To set the scene, let me say that I was unaware of the concept of cybersecurity in my early years. I started off my academic career at Northern Virginia Community College and I originally wanted to attend school for business. By this time I had already formed several side hustles, I was (still am) an All format DJ and was proficient in clothing making. So from a very young age I had a “CEO” mindset, I didn’t necessarily know what I wanted to do with the business degree but I knew I wanted to be in charge of my own success. Around my second year of my studies at NOVA my mother posed the question about my career path because in a few months I was going to be transferring to ODU to finish my last two years of school and earn my degree. I was still unsure about what I wanted to do so my mom introduced me to a family friend named “will” who was already in the field of cybersecurity.
Prior to this conversation I had no interest in cybersecurity, I figured it was just going to be a bunch of computer science and I grew up struggling with math so I knew that wasn’t something I wanted to pursue. But this family friend enlightened me about how “cybersecurity” was much more than just math and computer science. He showed me the in’s & out’s of the industry along with the many things you could do in a short amount of time with a degree in cybersecurity. At this time Will was already an established cyber analyst, making 6 figures, owning his own home, with several vehicles. And although I wasn’t completely sold on the career yet I knew Will was in possession of the same thingsI wanted in life, which encouraged me to give it a shot. In the psychology of life stories McAdam mentions that in a synchronic sense, identity integrates the wide range of different, and probably conflicting, roles and relationships that characterize a given life in the here and now (McAdams, 2001, p.102)
Academic Life at Old Dominion
Even though I had already planned on going, after changing my major was when I realized ODU couldn’t have been a better option for me. In fact, on the universities.com website ODU was ranked #2 out of a top 10 “schools for cybersecurity” list. I took on the cybersecurity B.S program, which taught skills on protecting computer systems, networks, and online data attacks. My CYSE courses were always fun and engaging but my linux and other programming related courses were giving me some trouble. Linux classes seemed “irrelevant” to my career which made me a bit unmotivated in class, not to mention these courses required a lot more brain work and multitasking. During this time of academic hardship, I learned to channel some self esteem and got help from some great professors. Professor Aldabagh would spend a lot of extra time outside of class helping me with the linux terminal, while professor Miller would help with extracurriculars, writing me recommendation letters and such. With the help of these two I was not only able to turn my grades around in these classes but stay motivated enough that even after their classes I was able to keep 3.0 GPA. (Smith, 2017) states that narrative identity are the good and bad experiences, as those are what make and shape us. Furthermore, I am grateful for the challenges I endured with these courses, and I feel that the skills I have acquired from these experiences can be applied through the rest of my college career and maybe even after graduating.
Social Life at Old Dominion
After getting a better grasp on my academics, I felt it was time to expand my social network at Old Dominion University. I was already a well known figure because I provided a lot of the music here on campus for some of the more notable events but I wasn’t a part of any organizations at the school. That’s when I decided to join Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc, a social fraternity with the purpose of achieving in every field of human endeavor. After joining this organization I have been all up and down the east coast networking, doing events, and being on a grand level of generativity. (McAdams, 2001, p. 107) says that adults ideally realize their greatest powers of generativity dur-ing the midlife years, as they focus time, attention, and resources on caring for and contributing to the well-being of the next generation. Not to mention, through this fraternity I’ve met older brothers in the cyber security field as well, who will be the first to put word in at their workplaces the second I graduate.
Conclusion
To summarize, in Nguyen’s “Life as a living portal” pdf, it describes life as a series of events that have gained meaning overtime. I am grateful for the opportunity to reinvent my personal history distinguished by my highs and lows that I will share with the world, which has inspired me to live more meaningfully and purposefully. As life goes on my e-portfolio will continue to highlight my accomplishments, academic career, and work experiences. All together it will tell a great story about my past life, but also how I am lining up my future.
References
Best Cyber Security Colleges in Virginia. Best Cyber Security Degree Colleges in Virginia | 2024. (n.d.).
McAdams, D. P. (2001). The Psychology of Life Stories. Review of General Psychology, 5(2), 100–122. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.5.2.100
Nguyen, C. F. (2013). the e-portfolio as a living portal: A medium for student learning, identity, and assessment. International Journal of EPortfolio, 3(2), 135–148. ISSN 2157-622X
Smith, E. E. (2017, January 12). The two kinds of stories we tell about ourselves. ideas.ted.com. Retrieved March 18, 2022, from https://ideas.ted.com/the-two-kinds-of-stories-we-tell- about-ourselves/.
