A Reflective Journey: Navigating Your Cumulative Experience at Iowa State University

My time at Iowa State has been nothing short of an academic adventure. I had originally
planned to follow my brother's footsteps by coming here and studying Software Engineering but
during a high school visit to Iowa State, we were introduced to a new major being offered. Upon
hearing about Cyber Security Engineering I was immediately intrigued, the idea of being one of
the first few years of graduates in my major and the fact that my major is not offered at very
many schools seemed like a very advantageous opportunity to me. So, I decided that I would
make my own path at Iowa State and study Cyber Security Engineering.
Throughout my degree, I have had the privilege of taking many challenging yet enjoyable
courses. Throughout these courses, I was able to gain experience in many different technical and
non-technical ways. Whether that be learning to program, learning things about security, learning
how circuits and low-level programming work, or on the other hand learning about technical
communication, how to communicate with a TA or professor, and how to work in a professional
group environment. These things I have learned and experienced are something that I expect to
take with me well past my collegiate career.
My most enjoyable classes so far have been those that required me to work in a group. I
felt that Iowa State really set us up for success when it came to group work and I can not think of
a poor experience I have had working in a group. I enjoyed the many different ways we were
able to work together both during the times of COVID and when the restrictions were eased and
we could meet in person. A class that stuck out to me was COMS 309, in this class, we created
an application in a group environment and it was my first exposure to GIT and actual project
development. This experience helped a ton with internships I later had as they relied heavily on
using GitLab and I was able to draw on those experiences to help impress those whom I worked
for.
Another tool that I learned at Iowa State and was able to use on internships was the
correct way to use external resources. Through the many courses I took I was able to learn more
efficient ways to look up information needed whether from sites like GeeksForGeeks, research
papers, or Youtube videos. I have found that in my current state compared to coming to Iowa
State as a Freshman I am much more efficient at utilizing outside resources to help further my
education and I have been able to apply this to the three internships I have had. A very
memorable experience I had was CPRE 288 where we had to use the TIVA Microcontroller
Datasheet to see how the microcontroller on the Roomba vacuum controller worked with all the
sensors. This was very enjoyable as I felt like I was truly doing engineering work in this course.
As mentioned above I have had the opportunity to complete three internships under my
tenure at Iowa State and it would not be possible without the rigorous coursework and career
development courses we have taken. Throughout my years here there have been many
opportunities through the engineering career services for resume reviews, mock interviews, and
general career advice and for that, I am thankful. I am extremely proud of the companies I have
interned for and each one I have noticed that I was able to apply things that I have learned at
Iowa State directly to my experiences there.
At Iowa State, I have had an immeasurable amount of incredible learning opportunities,
through successes and failures each one has set me up to become better and further develop
myself. I have also had the opportunity to see firsthand how quickly the world of technology and
especially the world of Cyber Security is changing and it has shown me how we as engineers
must be extremely proactive with continuing our education past college. In a field like cyber
security, there are constantly new vulnerabilities, exploits, and standards coming out and it is up
to me to stay on top of my knowledge to ensure I am the best I can be at what I do.