Entering higher education as a first-generation immigrant has often felt like learning two systems at the same time: the academic system itself and the broader culture surrounding it. When I began navigating college in the United States, I did not always have someone in my immediate family who could explain how internships, networking, office hours, scholarships, career fairs, professional organizations, or recruiting timelines worked. Many students seemed to already understand these unwritten rules, while I often had to learn them through observation, trial and error, and experience. Because of that, my educational journey has sometimes involved uncertainty. I have always believed that education could create opportunities, financial stability, and independence, but I learned that earning a degree alone does not automatically explain how to build a career. There were times when I worried that I was behind because I did not know which opportunities I should pursue, how early I should begin networking, or how important internships and professional relationships would become. As an immigrant, I also had to adjust to a different educational culture while trying to understand what success looked like in the United States. At the same time, these challenges have made me more resourceful and appreciative of the opportunities available to me. I learned to seek out scholarships, internships, professional certifications, volunteer opportunities, academic resources, and mentorship. I became more comfortable asking questions and looking for guidance rather than assuming I had to understand everything on my own. Over time, I realized that being unfamiliar with the system did not mean I was incapable of succeeding in it. It simply meant that I had to be intentional about learning how it worked. My immigrant background has also influenced my future goals. I want to build a meaningful career in information technology and cybersecurity, particularly in areas such as cybersecurity risk, governance, IT audit, and security operations. I hope to use my education and technical training to help organizations protect their systems, information, and the people who depend on them. Just as importantly, I want to become the type of mentor I would have benefited from when I first entered higher education. I hope to support immigrant, first-generation, and underrepresented students who may also feel like outsiders to the system. I want to help them understand how to find scholarships, prepare for internships, build professional networks, develop technical skills, and navigate the transition from college into a career. Being an outsider has created challenges, but it has also given me perspective. I understand how much difference one supportive person, one piece of guidance, or one opportunity can make. As I continue growing in my education and career, I want to use what I have learned to make the path clearer and more accessible for the students who come after me.

My educational journey has been shaped by faith, perseverance, financial responsibility, and a strong belief that education can create opportunities not only for one person, but for an entire family and community. As a Muslim woman pursuing a career in information technology and cybersecurity, I have often had to navigate spaces where people with backgrounds like mine are underrepresented. Rather than allowing that to discourage me, it has strengthened my determination to continue learning and to create a path that others can follow. Financial need has also influenced many of my educational decisions. I have had to think carefully about the cost of school, professional certifications, training, and career development opportunities while also considering family responsibilities. Because of this, I have learned to value every educational opportunity I receive. Scholarships, grants, internships, and affordable training have allowed me to continue building my skills and pursuing goals that might otherwise have been much more difficult to reach. My experiences have motivated me to pursue a career in cybersecurity, information technology, risk management, and IT audit. I want to use my education to help organizations protect their systems and information while continuing to grow into positions where I can lead, teach, and mentor others. I am especially drawn to cybersecurity because protecting technology ultimately means protecting people, their privacy, their finances, and the services they rely on. The story of Ismat Tariq particularly resonates with me because it reflects the lasting impact that one person’s commitment to family, community, and education can have. Her legacy is a reminder that opportunities should not end with the person who receives them. They should be passed forward. As I advance in my career, I plan to pay forward the support I have received by mentoring Muslim women and other students from financially disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds who are interested in STEM. I would like to help students navigate college, identify scholarships and internships, prepare for cybersecurity careers, and gain confidence in technical subjects. I also hope to continue teaching and volunteering in my community. Eventually, I want to be in a position where I can provide not only mentorship but also tangible opportunities, whether through scholarships, internships, professional connections, or educational programs. I want future students to feel that someone sees their potential and is willing to help them succeed. For me, education is not simply a personal achievement. It is a responsibility. Every opportunity I receive strengthens my ability to support myself, contribute to my community, and make the path a little easier for the students who come after me.

I chose to pursue education and training in information technology and cybersecurity because I want to build a stable career that allows me to solve problems, protect information, and contribute to organizations that depend on secure technology. I am especially interested in cybersecurity, risk management, IT audit, and governance because these areas combine technical knowledge with critical thinking and decision-making. My goal is to use my education, professional certifications, and technical training to qualify for a long-term career in technology and continue developing into a knowledgeable and dependable cybersecurity professional. Depression and anxiety have affected my educational journey in several ways. There have been times when stress, uncertainty, and pressure made it harder to concentrate, remain confident, or manage everything I was responsible for. Academic demands and concerns about my future sometimes felt overwhelming, and I have had to put additional effort into staying organized and continuing to move forward. However, these challenges have also taught me persistence, self-awareness, and the importance of developing routines and seeking support when necessary. Despite difficult periods, I have continued pursuing my education, certifications, internships, technical training, and professional opportunities. Continuing to work toward my goals has helped me recognize that progress does not always have to happen perfectly or quickly to still be meaningful. Independence means being able to support myself, make my own decisions, manage my responsibilities, and create stability in my life. It means being able to maintain housing, pay for my necessities, access healthcare, and make career and life decisions without having to depend heavily on other people. Independence also means having confidence in my ability to handle challenges and advocate for myself when I need assistance. My education is one of the most important tools I have for achieving and sustaining that independence. Developing specialized skills in cybersecurity and information technology can help me qualify for stable employment with competitive wages, benefits, and opportunities for advancement. A sustainable technology career would allow me to support myself financially while continuing to grow professionally. Ultimately, I see education as more than earning a degree or certification. For me, it represents a pathway toward stability, self-sufficiency, and greater control over my future. It will give me the skills and opportunities I need to build an independent life while contributing meaningfully to the technology and cybersecurity field. And make an impact on those around me and help the future generations prosper and succeed.

I am an information technology and cybersecurity professional, educator, and lifelong learner who is motivated by the belief that technology can protect people, solve meaningful problems, and create opportunities. My academic and professional journey has allowed me to explore cybersecurity, cloud computing, risk management, IT audit, programming, and information systems. I have completed technology and cybersecurity internships, pursued graduate education in information technology management, earned industry certifications, participated in cybersecurity projects, and taught technology courses as an adjunct instructor. What motivates me most is continuous growth combined with service. I enjoy challenging myself to learn difficult concepts, but learning is most meaningful when I can use that knowledge to help others. That may mean identifying a security risk, helping a student understand networking or programming, mentoring someone interested in technology, or volunteering in my community. If I could do anything with my life, I would build a career that combines cybersecurity, leadership, education, and service. I hope to become a cybersecurity leader who helps organizations protect critical systems, manage technology risks, and adopt emerging technologies responsibly. I am particularly interested in cybersecurity governance, security operations, risk management, and information assurance. Long term, I would also like to continue teaching and mentoring students and early-career professionals. I want to help make STEM education and career opportunities more accessible to people who may not initially see themselves represented in technology. Ultimately, I want my career to be about more than titles or accomplishments. I want to become someone whose knowledge can strengthen organizations, whose leadership can help others grow, and whose work creates a meaningful positive impact on the communities I serve. What excites me most about STEM is its ability to transform curiosity into practical solutions. Technology is constantly evolving, which means there is always something new to understand: a system to troubleshoot, a vulnerability to investigate, a process to automate, or an emerging technology to evaluate. That constant opportunity to learn is one of the reasons I am drawn to information technology and cybersecurity. Cybersecurity especially interests me because it combines technology, investigation, risk management, and human behavior. A security problem is rarely solved by knowing only one tool. A cybersecurity professional may need to understand networks, operating systems, cloud environments, access controls, organizational policies, and the behavior of both attackers and users. I enjoy the analytical thinking required to connect those different areas. I also believe information technology provides an important opportunity to make a positive impact because so much of modern life depends on digital systems. Hospitals protect patient information, banks protect financial data, universities protect student records, and businesses and governments depend on technology for essential operations. When those systems are compromised, the consequences affect real people. For that reason, I view cybersecurity as more than protecting computers. It is about protecting trust, privacy, information, and the services people rely on. Through my career, I hope to help organizations understand technology risks and implement practical security solutions. I am especially interested in governance, risk and compliance, IT audit, security operations, cloud security, and responsible artificial intelligence. I also want to contribute through education and mentorship. Teaching technology has shown me how meaningful it can be to help someone gain confidence in a subject they once found intimidating. My goal is to combine technical expertise with education, leadership, and service so I can strengthen both the systems people depend on and the people who will build the future of technology. One of the greatest challenges I have faced has been learning how to continue moving forward when my professional journey did not develop as quickly or predictably as I expected. I invested heavily in my education, internships, certifications, and technical development with the expectation that those efforts would naturally lead to a stable career in technology. Instead, the transition from student and intern to establishing myself professionally has included uncertainty, rejection, and setbacks. This challenged my confidence and forced me to reconsider how I viewed success. It can be difficult to continue putting in effort when there is no guarantee that the next application, certification, project, or opportunity will produce the result you hope for. Over time, however, I learned that I could not control every hiring decision or external circumstance. What I could control was how I responded. Instead of allowing setbacks to stop my progress, I began treating them as opportunities to identify where I could improve. I strengthened my technical abilities in cybersecurity, Linux, networking, cloud computing, security analysis, and programming. I pursued additional certifications and professional training, participated in technology projects and cybersecurity challenges, and continued teaching technology courses. Teaching also helped strengthen my communication skills and reminded me that professional growth can take different forms. This experience changed my understanding of resilience. I no longer think resilience simply means staying positive. I believe it means evaluating yourself honestly, recognizing where improvement is needed, adapting your approach, and continuing to work even when the final outcome is uncertain. It also taught me not to define myself by one rejection or one difficult period. A career develops over time through accumulated knowledge, experience, relationships, and persistence. Most importantly, the experience has made me more empathetic toward people trying to establish themselves professionally. As I advance in my career, I hope to remember how meaningful it can be when someone recognizes another person’s potential and gives them an opportunity to demonstrate it. I want to eventually provide that same support to others through leadership, teaching, and mentorship.