I was 8 years old when my older brother got me my first computer. I fell in love with how computers operated and the things I was able to do with them. Right from that day I knew I wanted to have a career that dealt with computers. I was first introduced to cybersecurity by my high school teacher Mr. Watkins. I was in my junior year, and I had an interest in computer programming. Mr. Watkins introduced me to certifications by CompTIA and one of the certifications he had was the Security +. That certification was the one that interested me the most of all. He told me that security was a major area in the IT world, and he mentioned that cybersecurity specialists are needed. My teacher pushed me to study and helped me to get my introductory certificate which was CompTIA IT essentials. When I graduated, I went to the University of Houston and started working in an Information Technology degree. I loved studying computers but sadly I had to let go of that dream because I was not able to continue my education due to financial problems. I worked with my father for around 2 years not knowing what to do. Eventually I learned of Lone Star College. They offered a degree in cybersecurity, and it was a bachelor's degree. I was confused because I did not know a community college was able to offer a 4-year degree. I immediately applied and was accepted. Luckily for me I had already done most of my core classes in the University of Houston and my credits were able to transfer over. I started learning python and Cisco networking and I was able to fully immerse myself with knowledge. Fast forward 2 years and I am in my final semester to get my associate's and continue to my bachelor's degree. I pursued a degree in cybersecurity because I believe that having someone protecting other users or a company from threats on the internet is the most important thing now because everything is digital. I love computers and doing what I love while helping others is amazing. Most people get on the internet and sometimes do not think about what threats lurk in the background. Especially with today's innovations there are many ways threat actors can take advantage of less savvy users. I want to be one of the people that helps protect assets and information from being stolen. After graduation I want to enter the workforce with the goal of using my skills and training to help mitigate cyber-attacks. Once I graduate, I will not stop learning because the cybersecurity field is always evolving, and new attacks or exploits are developed. With A.I becoming more prominent, which can create pros and cons. A.I can be a useful tool for cybersecurity because it can be able to detect things a human eye could not and be more efficient. The dreadful thing about A.I is that it can learn new exploits and methods we have not thought about, and threat actors can use that against companies or users. In conclusion, I have always loved computers and being part of that community. I want to be able to mitigate attacks and help protect our systems from attacks.