R - Research
I earned my research credit through the completion of my VICEROY Research Project in collaboration between Old Dominion University and the Department of Defense.
Importance
I believe that having research experience is an excellent inclusion in the LEADERS program as research can vary dramatically between what we complete in school and what we are asked to do in real-world situations related to our career. As much as I feel I benefitted from research-based classes at ODU, they were nothing like what I experienced working on my VICEROY project, with extensive research into the history of DNS, how it works, and many other systems critical to the internet that I never would have educated myself on so deeply otherwise. It changed my standard of research and altered how I learn about topics in my field on a fundamental level. Furthermore, with research projects, we are given the chance to connect with others in our fields and contribute to a topic's knowledge rather than just taking it in. Beyond that completing major research like this improves our presentation and communication skills as we are not keeping it to ourselves, we are completing it to share with our community.I don't think I would have taken on this research project if not for the experiences I had gained through the LeADERS program and this project ultimately became one of the most important aspects of my cyber career up to this point, so I encourage others to look for programs that offer in depth research experiences outside of traditional classes.
Context
The VICEROY Research Program is an initiative undertaken by the Department of Defense in 2019. The program is a cyber-spectrum leadership development pathway with the goal of improving and pumping new talent into cybersecurity by teaching and building upon skills, providing and funding learning experiences, and teaching operational application. By giving students access to applied national security problems, providing mentorship, exposing students to hands-on experiences and information they couldn't otherwise access, and hosting cyber competitions, VICEROY serves a very similar goal as the LeADERS program, giving students the tools and experience to effectively transition into the workforce. As for my personal experience with the VICEROY program, they funded research opportunities at ODU and challenged us to find solutions for major issues facing the cyber field. In collaboration with ODU, a team of two students and I completed a research paper focused on how a new internet protocol could be implemented to cut back on the human element of cyber attacks and the viability of its implementation. The full research paper can be found in my work samples section.
Development
I can directly attribute a part of my past and active career development to my participation in the VICEROY research program. It has always been a topic of interest in any interview I've had since its completion. It connected me with a terrific mentor from whom I learned so much and was encouraged to take new opportunities. Working on a project that falls under the office of the Department of Defense not only gave me experience working on my most serious project to date but it also ended up being the perfect substitute I needed to get a leg up and secure an internship when I was constantly losing opportunities to people who already had cyber work experience. I think I would have had difficulty advancing my career if I hadn't been selected for the project, and I look back on it as a major step in developing my professional career.