Emerging Cybersecurity Professional

Academic Research

In my current role, I find that I am constantly researching and writing for various projects, and I find myself confident in doing so because of the previous academic research background I have built over the years. The first artifact displayed is a published academic paper sponsored by COVA-CCI, discussing possible solutions to the problem of scamming in marginalized populations (Old Dominion University, ODU Digital Commons, n.d.). This research took place over the course of four months, where I met with a mentor and brainstormed possible solutions, as well as researched what was currently happening in the field. For my first published research paper, I feel quite proud of it, and feel that many of the proposed solutions hold up to this day. Additionally, nothing brings me more joy than seeing a notification that an individual has cited my paper– I get so excited seeing readers from China, Malaysia, Germany, United Arab Emirates, etc. I hope to continue researching and publishing academic writing, especially with the technology I work on with MITRE, as it gives me great fulfillment to share information with other individuals interested in technological advancement.

I also provided a report that also required extensive research, but in a different field– physiology. For my biological seminar course, I chose to cover nutrition’s impact on ballet dancers, and why a well-balanced diet is so important for such strenuous activity. Since ballet has such a stigma around nutrition, I felt particularly proud of this assignment–I felt as if I was helping to reverse this stigma and relieve some misinformation around the art form. This paper was another semester-long assignment, meaning I had a significant amount of time to spend on research and metadata synthesis. Having dedicated time to devote to a research paper is imperative, as you can fully flush our topics, and research different avenues that can ultimately strengthen your paper. 

My final academic research artifact is another scientific article, but focuses on human psychology, rather than physiology. This article is documented in an experimental format, rather than a traditional research paper, showing a different aspect of my academic research experience. The experiment documented was a simple yet effective one, testing the effect of lighting on human emotion. The article details my hypothesis, supplies used, and full process of experimentation and data collection for reusability. Finally, I cover my findings and revisit my hypothesis. I enjoy writing in this format, and hope to do it more in the future, but that may be more difficult compared to APA and IEEE formats, as those are more common in my field.

Technical Skill

To exemplify my technical skills, I added a few artifacts from my academic experience to this e-portfolio. The first of these is a final report from my internship class, providing a brief synopsis of my time as a penetration testing intern. During this time, I spent many hours learning about different exploits and vulnerabilities, and was able to use that knowledge in a modeled testing environment. Additionally, this report covers the labs I completed while studying for the eLearnSecurity Junior Penetration Tester certification. This internship report provided me the opportunity to discuss challenges and objective goals that I faced during this time, and allowed for me to reflect on the skills I acquired (Frontier Technologies Inc., n.d.). 

The second technical artifact I have added is a bit of an unconventional choice. For my capstone course at ODU, I was prompted to write a report on a job application, what skills would be required, and why I would be a good fit for the role. It just so happens that during this time, I was interviewing for MITRE’s CNP program, so I chose to cover that role, and what technical skills I possessed that would be applicable to the position. The report serves as sort of a cover letter, as I was offered a spot in the program, and I accepted the role (The MITRE Corporation, n.d.). 

Finally, a digital forensic lab plan rounds out my technical artifacts. This lab plan was an assignment for a recent digital forensics course, and displays my knowledge of lab planning, especially when it comes to security and compartmentalization. I think more than anything, this is an interesting document to observe, as it provides a holistic view of digital forensic lab planning, addressing equipment, floor plan, contingency planning, certification, and employee responsibilities. This report required me to become familiar with these technical concepts, like write-blockers and disk duplicators, as well as what is common in a standard digital forensic lab.