See It To Be It Spotlight

I got into cyber through…I grew up in a small, rural town in Alabama—on a farm, with dial-up internet that barely limped along even as I finished high school. While most of my friends across the river had high-speed cable, I spent ages just trying to load a webpage. People are often surprised I ended up in cyber given that background, but in a way, the lack of access drove my curiosity. I started by taking apart old computers just to understand how they worked, tinkering with hardware long before I had reliable access to the internet.

I began college at Auburn University as a chemical engineering major, but during a co-op at an environmental testing firm, I realized my favorite part of the job wasn’t chemistry—it was helping the IT team solve technical challenges. That experience, combined with a love for programming (especially in MATLAB, which most of my classmates hated), pushed me to switch to software engineering. I earned a National Science Foundation Scholarship for Service (NSF-SFS), which came with a commitment to serve in a cybersecurity role for the U.S. Government.

That brought me to Fort Meade, Maryland, and the newly established cyber operations unit under the U.S. Army’s INSCOM 780th Military Intelligence Brigade. From there, I transitioned into the NSA, where I had the opportunity to work on both offensive and defensive cyber operations. Over time, I became a Technical Director in the Directorate of Operations, collaborating with some of the most brilliant minds in national security. Looking back, it’s been a long road from dial-up on the farm—but every step was fed by a deep, hands-on curiosity that naturally led me to love cyber.

For me, a positive cyber mindset is…grounded in perseverance, curiosity, and grit. It means approaching every technical challenge with a “never give up” attitude, even when solutions aren’t immediately clear. Always maintaining the belief that no problem is too complex to understand, only unfamiliar for now. I remind myself often: every system, every protocol, every piece of technology was created by people. If others can learn to build and understand these systems, then so can I. This mindset shifts the focus from feeling overwhelmed to being empowered. The same human minds that uncovered the laws of nature and engineered today’s digital world weren’t fundamentally different, they just kept moving forward in the face of adversity and failure.

The skill that helped me transition to a career in cyber…was the ability to translate complex technical concepts into the right language for the audience, whether that meant diving deep with technical peers or framing the impact in business terms for leadership. Being able to explain not just how something works, but why it matters (how it saves time, reduces risk, or drives mission success) made me a trusted voice across both technical and executive teams.

I would tell my younger self…worry less about the future – things have a way of working out. Anxiety is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.

The quote I live by is…I’ll give you two:
“Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility. The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

“Strength lies not in grand gestures, but in the refusal to fall.”

What is your biggest takeaway from the RISE Mentorship Program?
My biggest takeaway from the RISE Mentorship Program is that there is no single path into cybersecurity, or life in general. Participants come from diverse backgrounds and bring a wide range of experiences, entering the field at different stages in their careers, from entry-level to mid-career and beyond. This diversity is a strength, and it reminded me that there’s value in every unique journey and many paths to success.

What has been your favorite part of being a RISE Mentor?
My favorite part of being a RISE mentor has been the opportunity to pay it forward. Throughout my career, formal mentorship played a pivotal role in my growth, guiding me through challenges and helping me succeed. I feel a strong sense of responsibility to offer that same support to others and help them navigate their own journeys.