Topic Proposal - Cybersecurity:

As a topic of study, I am willing to research information technology. More specifically, I aim

to gain valuable knowledge and experiences within cybersecurity throughout this year’s ISM
journey.

Since I was little, I have always loved technology, and I have dabbled with electronics for as
long as I can remember. Even when I didn’t possess a phone, I used to take our iPad, iPod, or my
parents’ phones to install applications and try to understand how the various operating systems
function. In fact, I even used to teach how to use many of the features on those devices to my parents
and grandparents. Later, during my freshman year, I decided to take Pre-AP Computer Science to
explore whether programming is a good fit for me, and after completing the course, I learned that I
felt very satisfied completing each one of the programs. This made me want to pursue Computer
Science for two more years, and in addition to the programming aspect, I decided to delve into the
security sect of information technology by participating in the Computer Security event last year in
BPA (Business Professionals of America). As I was preparing for this competition, I gained a strong
passion for it and began to do extensive research. This process not only sparked my interest in
pursuing the cybersecurity career pathway, but it also allowed me to gain enough knowledge to place
third in the entirety of Texas in the event. In overall, because of this valuable experience, I have
chosen cybersecurity as my field of study to research for this year.

Furthermore, according to the 16 personality test, my personality type is ISFJ-A (Introverted,

Sensing, Feeling, Judging, and Assertive). These characteristics go really hand-in-hand with the type
of skills that are ideal for cybersecurity professionals, as they must be able to be comfortable working
both individually and collaboratively, and have to be well-organized. All of these traits describe the
ISFJ-A personality, supporting that this career is likely very suitable for me. Additionally, I am
extremely interested and proficient in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) topics as I
love to problem solve and solve puzzles in my free time. I also tend to love spending time with
myself, and while I enjoy the company of a small group of people, I don’t mind spending the
majority of the day alone. This trait of being independent and focused is beneficial to cybersecurity
engineers because they might be expected to frequently monitor a system’s security strengths and
weaknesses by themselves. Lastly, I am a very community-service oriented person, and I have earned
over 150 volunteering hours by teaching science to younger students and donating the money that we
raised to local organizations that serve people in need. This love for helping others is essential for
cybersecurity professionals because they must constantly have a desire to raise cybersecurity
awareness to coworkers and continuously improve the security of their organizations so that the
regular users won’t face any financial losses and are up-to-date with the newest policies. To
summarize, my introverted personality and my passion to help others makes cybersecurity an
excellent choice for me to pursue.