See It To Be It Spotlight

A Life in a Thousand Words: The Journey of a Butterfly

I often think about where someone’s professional journey truly begins. Does it start with the first breath of air, or with the first step into a classroom? I believe it begins as a small fire – one that slowly ignites and grows stronger over time. That flame is shaped by our parents, by every person we meet, and by the society that can either empower our ambitions or challenge them.

I got into cybersecurity through…

My journey started in Romania, during some of the hardest years of the communist regime. Life was not easy. There were shortages of almost everything – food, heat, electricity. Every winter evening the power would be cut for three or four hours to reduce national electricity consumption. I would sit at my desk studying by candlelight, wearing my winter coat to stay warm.

Those long hours taught me resilience, perseverance, patience, and the quiet determination to keep moving forward no matter the circumstances. Your fists tighten until your nails press into your palms, you clench your teeth, take a deep breath – and keep going.

As a young girl, I dreamed of building airplanes and ships. They were majestic, mysterious and represented strength, exploration, and the ability to cross boundaries. Being born in Galați, a Romanian harbor city on the Danube, I often passed by the shipyard imagining that one day I would build something majestic – something capable of withstanding powerful forces and still moving forward.

That dream led me to pursue naval architecture. I earned my master’s degree and eventually my PhD, dedicating myself to understanding how complex systems are designed to survive and thrive in difficult environments.

But life has a way of changing the course we carefully plan.

Even after the political regime in Romania changed, life remained difficult. I knew that if I wanted to continue growing – and if I wanted a better life for my baby girl – I would have to look beyond the borders of my country. When I received a fellowship to study at Duke University, I grabbed my daughter’s hand and came to the land of opportunities and promises – the United States.

I arrived with excitement and determination, fully expecting to continue my work in naval architecture.

A turning point…

Soon after arriving, I realized that path would not unfold the way I had imagined. The naval program at Duke was military, and there was no place for me there. For a moment, I stood at a crossroads. Everything I had worked toward seemed uncertain.

But throughout my life I had learned something important: when one path closes, you find another. You never give up – if not for yourself, then for the child who trusts you completely and sees you as their entire universe. I had to be the best role model for my daughter. I could never let her down.

So instead of turning back, I started again.

I began a new PhD, shifting my focus toward applied mathematics, numerical simulations, and cybersecurity. At first glance it may seem like a completely different world from shipbuilding, but to me the connection was natural. They were all mathematics used to model the world around us.

Engineering had already taught me how to think about complex systems – how to understand their structures, anticipate risks, and design them to withstand stress. In cybersecurity, the systems are digital rather than physical, but the thinking is remarkably similar. In many ways, I realized I was still building ships – only now they were systems navigating the vast and unpredictable ocean of cyberspace.

The butterfly effect…

Throughout my life I often joked that my spiritual animal must be the chameleon. I felt like someone constantly adapting to survive and move forward. But one day I took a personality test that gave me a completely different answer: it said my spirit animal was a butterfly.

At first, I laughed. A butterfly seemed too delicate for the journey I felt I had taken. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. A butterfly represents transformation. It retreats into a cocoon, changes completely, and emerges again stronger and ready to fly.

When I look at my life – from a child studying by candlelight, to a shipbuilder, to a mathematician and cybersecurity engineer – I see that my journey has been a series of transformations.

Today, I serve as the Program Director for the Open Security Controls Assessment Language (OSCAL) program and as a senior supervisory computer engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. My work focuses on helping organizations strengthen cybersecurity by building standards and frameworks that improve how security controls are understood, implemented, and assessed.

In a way, I still do what first inspired me – I help design resilient systems that can withstand cyber “storms.”

For me a positive cyber mindset is…

For me, a positive cyber mindset is about curiosity, responsibility, and adaptability. Cybersecurity is not just about technology; it is about protecting people, systems, and trust in a world that increasingly depends on digital connections.

I would tell my younger self…

If I could speak to my younger self – the girl studying by candlelight – I would tell her not to fear change. Sometimes the path you imagine will disappear, but that does not mean the journey ends. Often those unexpected turns lead you exactly where you are meant to make a difference.

My advice to those interested in transitioning to a cybersecurity career path…

And to anyone considering a career in cybersecurity, my advice is simple: build strong foundations in problem solving and systems thinking, stay curious, and never stop learning. Cybersecurity thrives on diverse perspectives, and the field grows stronger when people from different journeys bring their ideas together.

When I look back, I see a life shaped by constant adaptation and transformation – from Romania to the USA, from shipbuilding to cybersecurity, from candlelight to the AI age.

And perhaps that personality test was right after all – because just like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, every transformation in my life allowed me to spread my wings a little wider and help make the digital world safer for others.

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