During my Associate's Degree, there was a strong emphasis on hands-on experience. One of the primary focuses for this practical learning was the Cisco classes. These classes revolved around physically connecting and setting up Cisco Switches, routers, and end devices. After completing the physical topography, we would start, initialize, and set up the switches using PuTTY to access the CLI. The projects in this class provided me with real experience in building secure networks. This experience enabled me to troubleshoot issues related to the command line interface (CLI) and physical hardware problems.

On my own dime, I created an Ubuntu VM on Azure, configured networking, firewalls, SSH access, and installed packages for intrusion prevention. Disabled password SSH authentication and configured Fail2ban to host private game servers within the VM. Tested server security, ensuring only whitelisted people could connect, and set up a reverse proxy using nginx. 
I wanted to pen test, so on a separate Kali VM, I used snort, nMap, OpenVAS, and Metasploit to identify vulnerabilities. This project helped improve my knowledge of cyber resiliency. Additionally, my research, including topics like potential threats and vulnerabilities, ultimately improving my general knowledge in system securityty

I was given the opportunity of a seasonal cybersecurity research internship role at the DoE's NREL. My sole role was on the portal team for the DoE's project, Liberty Eclipse. My main deliverables were:

 To create the .yml's for the newest versions of  the portal's platforms (keycloak and discourse), and dockerize them. Ensuring they could be brought down and up with ease. We then transferred over as much as we could from the legacy versions of these platforms from 2024.

Configure a new Windows Server, including an Active Directory DC, OU, and service account to allow AD and Keycloak to communicate using LDAP. This was to centralize user management.

Script a bespoke and versatile PowerShell Script that could take a list of project members and their personal data, to create OU users. This would make them a username, and would populate what groups they were in, their emails, and more.

I also scripted API calling scripts using Bash and Python. These called to keycloak to get data in an easily navigational and readable .txt or .csv file.

I served as a community administrator for a small gaming organization for three years. My responsibilities included managing the back-end work for the server, which involved implementing assets and plugins, setting up permissions, and enhancing our security measures. I improved security by implementing DDoS protection, configuring ACLs, developing policies, and setting up IP whitelisting. Our community comprised approximately 800 members, with an average of 46 active members at any given time. Additionally, I gained experience in creating clear and accessible documentation and SOPs.

During high school, I had a side project involving building, repairing, and setting up personal computers, individual pieces of hardware and occasionally, server rigs. 

• If I were repairing something, I would first diagnose the problem and then offer options to fix it. 

• If I were building or upgrading a system, I would create a list of components, adhering to the budget, specifications, and limitations asked. 

After I built the device, I would test my work and configure the necessary software, storage, and drivers. For server rigs specifically, I would configure RAID storage and partition each drive according to the specified requirements.

COVID-19 highlighted the critical importance of cloud computing. During one of my classes, we were allowed access to individual Azure instances with Windows Server to explore topics like Active Directory and PowerShell. I took full advantage of this opportunity and even utilized it for my final project. For the project, each student was tasked to use a concept we learned in a real-world application. I created a custom Organizational Unit with specific permissions, custom requirements, and a clear hierarchy. I made an effort to test and document each change I made, ultimately creating a secure and well-structured OU that merited praise from my instructor.

I had a small project of testing almost any operating system I could think of using VMware on my personal computer. VMware gave me hands-on experience on iOS, macOS, Kali, Arch, Fedora, and Ubuntu. I explored the UI and the command lines for each, learning the similarities and differences. (You would be surprised how similar some commands are for Linux distros and macOS). I would also use these virtual machines to test different programs and security. If I had a file I was wary about, I would boot up a new instance of a virtual machine and test it using Wireshark and Kaspersky to see if the file was infected.

Based off of Shane McFly's (NREL and Colorado School of Mines) project, I have begun to create my own cyber security system using a raspberry pi, breadboard and more to strengthen and test a physical system. I will then test to systems I have put in place to see how well they hold up and continue to improve my attack vectors as well as my security measures.