Autobiography

(2014–2017) Lifeguarding

My earliest work was removed from the Information Technology Domain, at 17 I started working as a lifeguard. I learned Basic Lifesaving techniques, and focused on the safety of patrons. I attribute some of my mindset to this portion of my career, the ability to stay calm during a crisis, a laser like focus doing the same thing for hours, and a safety first approach.

When you're a lifeguard, you have to be able to do your job without hesitation or self doubt. There can be a lot of pressure involved in a water emergency rescue, everyone is watching you and the situation can escalate quickly. One thing that always stuck with me is a saying we had for our lifeguards "Would you rather jump in the water for a false drowning, and feel like an idiot or would you rather not jump in for a real drowning, and actually be an idiot?"

In a way, a water rescue is a lot like a cyber security incident, would you rather raise a false alarm and feel a little dumb or would you rather ignore a real incident, it escalates into a full blown crisis and you actually are dumb?

(2017–2022) Marine Corps: MOS 2841

I joined the Marine Corps in 2017, with an ASVAB score of 90 and a General Technical score of 131. I was assigned to MOS 2841, which is a "Ground Electronics Transmission Systems Maintainer". For shorthand, I was a "Radio Technician".

I attended Marine Corps Recruit Training in San Diego, California, and then went to Marine Combat Training in Camp Pendleton, California. From there, persuant to my MOS, I went to the Marine Corps Communications Electronics School(MCCES) in Twentynine Palms, California. I attended school there for a year, and learned Basic Electronics Theory, Advanced Electronics Theory, and Radio Communications Maintenance. This was a boone later for me as I recieved college credit for these courses which applied to my associates degree in Computer Science.