Experience

 We have been going over how to translate our academic experience or our past job experience into desirable skills/traits that a future employer is looking for. When I think of my experience so far one of the first thing that comes to mind is Leadership. I have gained leadership skills by being a mother, it’s literally my job to lead my kids but I have also gained leadership skills from working on several research projects two of which I have been the lead on. I also have the desirable skill of being able to work with a team. The research experience has helped here but also most of my classes have group projects and homework. Furthermore I was very active in campus clubs at my CC so I am comfortable working in a large or small teams. Anther important skill I have is I am capable of working on my own, at times I prefer it. I love being self sufficient but I am not afraid to ask for help. I am an amazing communicator. In fact I could not be efficient in all the other areas without great communications skills. Don’t forget to emphasize your soft skills my friends, these are extremely important. 

How I think I want to use my degree and why

 Hello friends! I have an interesting prompt this week. How do I want to use my degree and why. Well this is a multilayered question because I want to use my degree to propel me into grad school. I also want to use my degree to get my foot in the door of potential internships in the area of cybersecurity. I have learned that I am not a big fan of the Applied computing area of my degree but I'm extremely interested in the Cybersecurity focus that comes with my degree. And that is why I will go to graduate school, so I can earn my masters degree in the field of Cybersecurity.  Eventually I will use my masters degree to hopefully secure critical infrastructure. Furthermore, I hope to use my masters degree and experience to earn a PhD. We will see where this road takes me. Stay well my friends and enjoy Halloween 🎃

Update on my online presence

 Hello friends, well here it is https://mrodriq6.wixsite.com/website. My website! It’s not that exciting but I can always update it and change it as I please. Now that we have had several classes and assignments about our online presence I can say mine is better after it all. The website makes such a huge difference in helping me stand out. With a name like mine, I get lost in the crowd on the web. I didn’t add any new social media accounts because between FB and LinkedIn I find it would be counterproductive and I truly feel that my personal website does far more than SM. I think anyone looking for a job or trying to get in a school or special program should make a personal website, highlight yourself and stand out from the crowd. It was free on Wix! And easy, definitely worth a try.

My online presence?

 Hello everyone! Nice to be back and entering my senior year. recently we (in class) have been discussing our online presence and after evaluating mine, I have to admit that it is pretty weak. I currently use Facebook for personal reasons. I love sharing memes, political posts, pictures, and just my random thoughts and opinions. I use LinkedIn in a whole different way. LinkedIn is much more professional for me. I network by adding, searching, and following different companies and influential people in Cybersecurity. I don’t share anything personal there, just my academics and relevant experiences. I have to say that just between those two SM sites I’m exhausted, I’m not sure I could juggle more than those two but it is worth a try. For our TRAin class we will be building a personal website. I will definitely keep you guys updated and share the link when it’s ready. TTYS 

The future...

 1. What are your professional goals, 1 year, 5 years and 10 years into the future? What will accomplishing these goals let you do? How will accomplishing these goals impact those around you and what will it make possible for those in your community? 

My professional goals for 1 year would be to be enrolled in grad school and to have an internship in cybersecurity secured. For 5 years, I would say that my goal would be to have a stable career that continues to grow. I hope that I continue to learn and develop my skills. In 10 years I hope to be in a position of leadership, wether that is in industry or in academia. Accomplishing these goals would mean socioeconomic stability and independence for me and my family. Accomplishing theses goals impacts everyone around me, I intend to be in a career where I can make a positive difference in peoples lives. I want to protect all people form cyber threats.  

2. What are societal challenges that matter to you that you think it's important to deal with now? What do you think are the challenges that will matter 10 years in the future, and 20 years in the future? How do you think these challenges will be addressed, and what will need to happen to make sure that they are?

I think that global warming and micro plastic contamination are the some of the most important challenges that face everyone on the planet. I believe that these two issues will still be a major concern in ten years and even twenty years, even if we make changes to mitigate the issue. I think education is huge here. If the average person cannot understand basic terminology then they will not be able to address the issue. If people can't understand the issue how can they fix it and why would they care. 

3. What is something that makes you optimistic about the future, and why? This could be something big and impersonal (improving price of Li-ion batteries) or something small and personal (a new pet). Please describe how it feels to focus on this thing that makes you optimistic, and discuss whether you think it is a good idea to be intentional about being optimistic. 

Something that makes me optimistic is that most people understand that progress is the answer, that we must continue to evolve and that change is nature. We can not stagnate as a species, we have to come together and continue to push civilization forward, whether that means new governments or completely new ideas for society, I feel pretty certain that we will continue to raise humans that want more and want to move forward. 

Everything I still don't know...

 1. What did you know about your field 3 years ago, and what have you learned about that has 'wowed' you? (Supplemental questions: What did you used to think was an advanced topic in your subject, and what do you think is now? What was the experience that you feel you learned the most from?)

2. What do you want to learn about over the next 3 years? (Is it scientific or personal? Why do you want to learn it? How do you plan on developing this knowledge?)

I knew close to nothing about my field three years ago. When I think back, I thought it was legal hacking and really had no idea what that entailed either. I was wowed this year to find out that hacking, is at best, about 10% of what I might do, I do not have to be a hacker to work in cybersecurity. I think a big focus of cybersecurity should be in social engineering and in attempting to be more offensive vs defensive.  

Over the next three years I want to learn about cyber forensics and principles of cybersecurity that don't necessarily involve coding. This is the first semester that I am actually getting into cybersecurity and its my junior year so I feel I have so much to learn to be a cybersecurity expert. 

The Power of Mentors

 I am writing this blog to express my gratitude to one of my mentors. Dr. Robin Cotter, she has helped me and inspired me on my educational journey in so many ways. Dr. Cotter was the person who got me into undergraduate research. She encouraged me to apply to the TRAin scholarship even when I didn't think I would get it. To my surprise I received the scholarship and not long after Dr. Cotter asked if I would like to join her project and I was beyond happy to join the team. I truly believe without Dr. Cotter's support I would not have found the amazing experience of undergraduate research which has opened so many doors for me. I am so much further in my educational journey than I thought I would be and I am in such a good place that I should be able to graduate with my bachelors with no student debt. I know that I have put so much work and time in but without her guidance and support I don't think I would be so fortunate. Thank you Dr. Cotter, for being my mentor and for being a mother in STEAM that I can look up to, you truly inspire me. Thank your mentors and if you don't have one, I recommend reaching out to that professor that sparks your curiosity and you may just end up with an amazing mentor for life.