A Little Bit About Me
I am a Black student who attended Ashland High School in Oregon. I am originally from the Bay Area in California, but I moved here with my mom about 7 years ago to escape some unfortunate circumstances back home. Since then, I have been determined to become the best version of myself and pursue everything in life that I am interested in, as I have been shown that life is far too short to let it pass you by. Before I knew I wanted to pursue a career in Cybersecurity and IT, I wanted to be a police officer or even a firefighter. As I got a little older, I even thought I wanted to be a photographer! I can still do that, but at the time I thought I wanted to make a career out of it. Recently, I realized that when I grow up, I just want to be happy :)
Why I Chose Oregon Tech and My Major
I am choosing to study Cybersecurity and Information Technology. I developed my interest when I got my first computer virus on our family computer at about 8 years old. As a result, we had to call someone to come and fix it since we didn't have the know-how to do it ourselves. The technician came to our house and proceeded to blow my mind with his computer magic. Since then, I knew exactly what I needed to do.
My Greatest Learning Experience
My greatest learning experience throughout high school has been reflecting on how my mindset has developed. Mainly, I have always struggled with insecurity as most teenagers do. However, I found that I was a lot more affected by my insecurity than others showed or let on. Throughout the years I am proud to say that I have overcome a significant amount of my internal struggles. I did this by allowing myself to take risks and make mistakes. Funny enough, the very things I was afraid of doing were what gave me the most growth.
My Plans After Graduation
After attaining my degrees, I plan on going to Illinois Tech to further my education with their Cybersecurity master's program. Afterward, I plan on working in the space for many years and building connections within the space. Ultimately, I want to use my knowledge and connections to start my own Cybersecurity firm and utilize my excess funds to start a foundation to aid persons from underprivileged backgrounds to achieve education in tech.