What influenced your decision to study cybersecurity?

I was introduced to coding in elementary school and loved how creative I could be with it. Information Technology is such a vast field, but I am drawn to cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is the combination of my most dominant skills; problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity. Sensitive data travels through networks every second of the day, especially since the pandemic, while people have been working and studying from home. Enforcing secure digital communications has become a priority, specifically for the military, hospitals, schools, and infrastructures. Cyberspace is such a vast and ever-changing world that malicious users are actively exploiting this field. As the high demand for digital assets continues to increase, there is a consistently growing demand for cybersecurity professionals.

What are some things that encouraged or discouraged you along the way? What was difficult, what motivates you?

My family has always been a factor of encouragement for me to succeed in cybersecurity. I knew with the skills I was learning that I could help them with their technological needs. My mom works in nursing management, and she sparked my interest by explaining that protecting health information from malicious hackers helps save patients’ lives. North Point High School in Charles County has encouraged me with its Cisco Networking Academy CTE program. By offering this program and computer internship, I was surrounded by like-minded instructors who taught with passion and empathy. Something that might have discouraged me is not having time to spend with my friends. But I knew in the long run, working on my career would be worth it. My friends are excellent influences, and they are understanding of the self-discipline it takes for me to study.

What is something that is working well for you right now? 

Something that is working well for me right now is that my college classes are virtual. I work full-time for Charles County Public Schools as a Computer Analyst. I am also a full-time student at the College of Southern Maryland. The assignments are asynchronous online, which allows me to complete my coursework after work. During my senior year, I applied to 16 universities, and I was accepted to all of them. I know that starting at the College of Southern Maryland was the best choice since I could complete my associate degree online in a year while gaining IT work experience. I received 6 credits from the Cisco Networking Academy and 12 credits from my IT certifications, which allows me to complete my associate degree in cybersecurity within a year. I graduated from North Point high school in 2022 and am graduating from the College of Southern Maryland in 2023.

More about me:

• I competed and won the 2022 Miss Teen Philippines-America pageant.

• I am a black belt in Canido martial arts.

• I attended Charles County Public Schools from Kindergarten to 12th grade.

• I was introduced to coding through code.org in elementary school.

• I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.3 GPA from North Point High School’s
  Cisco Networking Academy, class of 2022.

• In my senior year, I earned the position as 1 of the 4 Computer Interns for North
  Point High School for career and technology education.

• Presently, I am a Computer Analyst for Charles County Public Schools.

• I am completing my associate degree in cybersecurity this year, which is one year
  in total because of the credits I earned from IT certifications and the Cisco
  Networking Academy.

• My certifications include the Cisco Certified Network Associate, CompTIA
  Security+, CompTIA A+, and Amazon Web Services Certified Cloud Practitioner.