Cybersecurity Internship
In the summer of 2023 and 2024 I was able to complete a 4-month summer internship with NAVSEA Port Hueneme Division - Virginia Beach Detachment. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the United States Navy's five system commands and its primary objective is to engineer, build, buy, and maintain the U.S. Navy's fleet of ships and its combat systems. The Virginia Beach detachment's role is to support Port Hueneme's mission by providing test and evaluation, in-service engineering, and integrated logisitics support for surveillance radar systems, system interface, and radar design improvement for the United States Navy. I believe my coursework at TCC and ODU prepared me well for this internship and gave me a great headstart in a lot of the skills that I had to master when being involved with this government agencie's cyber-related activities.
CVN-69 Trip
One of the experiences I had with NSWC PHD was that I got to tour the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and speak with sailors on board who where apart of the cybersecurity division. I was given insight on how cybersecurity fits into the U.S. Navy and what they do on a day-to-day basis to protect the aircraft carrier systems.
Radar Support
I successfully developed custom Windows images on our assets to be used in workstation and server deployments and performed software compatibility testing and configuring on various different machines. I was introduced to performing daily monitoring and deployment of system update requirements utilizing third-party patching software. My assistance with developing, testing, and deployment of physical and virtual machines led to the successful launch of a classroom and training environment for a radar aboard our Navy fleet.
Site Support
My main duty was to perform desk-side support for two Navy networks for over 300 on-site and remote users. My team and I were able to distribute over 300 new NMCI assets to customers who had retired assets. I was able to assist in the troubleshooting of this asset upgrade phase and help customers transfer their data smoothly during this process. I was also able to create NMCI at-home "kits" for those who did not work on-site and instructed them on how to successfully set up a cyber secure, work-friendly environment at home.
Internship Course at Old Dominion University
In the summer of 2024, I took an internship course at Old Dominion University that allowed me to write reflective papers that allowed me to reflect on my experiences at my internship over a four month period. They go in depth on the knowledge and skills that I learned throughout the internship chronologically. If you are interested in reading the papers, please click the button below.
LeADERS Program Application
My cybersecurity internship with the federal government aligns strongly with the LeADERS program’s "Applied Work-Based Learning" category by providing a structured, real-world experience where I applied academic knowledge to professional challenges. Through coursework at ODU—particularly in classes such as Cybersecurity Fundamentals, Risk Management, and Network Defense—I developed a strong foundation in identifying and mitigating security threats, analyzing vulnerabilities, and adhering to ethical and legal frameworks. These skills directly translated into my internship, where I contributed to tasks such as assessing system security configurations, supporting incident response, and analyzing network traffic for potential threats.