July 2023
Moving to Alaska
I moved to Alaska and started adjusting to an entirely new environment, community, and pace of life. It was the beginning of a major transition and the first step into a completely new chapter.
Journey • Resilience • Proof
The path behind the proof.
This is the personal side of Cyber Grad Chronicles: the story of building a career in technology from Alaska, navigating military spouse life, creating proof before opportunity, and now learning what comes after the first professional IT role.
The technical proof lives on my Credentials page. This page is the timeline behind it.
Core Belief
You can never fail if you do not stop trying.
This journey is not about a perfect path. It is about persistence, rebuilding, creating visible proof, earning opportunities, and then continuing to grow once those opportunities arrive.
AlaskaMilitary SpouseIT OperationsCybersecurity
Timeline
The story in milestones.
From starting over in Alaska to building proof, graduating, landing my first professional IT role, and continuing toward cybersecurity.
August 2023
Getting married
A month later, I got married and officially stepped into military spouse life, learning quickly how much flexibility, resilience, and rebuilding would become part of my life.
August 2024
Starting school
I started my B.S. in Cybersecurity with a concentration in cybercrime. This was the moment the interest became a real commitment.
2024–2026
Building the foundation
Through school, certifications, hands-on labs, research, and technical projects, I started building the foundation that would shape my path toward cybersecurity and threat intelligence.
Alaska
Building from a place people underestimated
I was told building this career from Alaska would be difficult, so I started documenting the proof anyway: projects, research notes, labs, certifications, and this site.
Proof
Turning learning into visible work
I built GitHub repositories, threat briefs, malware write-ups, Python tools, CTI labs, and Cyber Grad Chronicles to turn learning into visible evidence instead of waiting for someone else to validate the work.
2026
Graduating and continuing to build
I completed my B.S. in Cybersecurity and kept building beyond the degree through certifications, portfolio projects, research, and hands-on practice.
August 2026
The opportunity finally came
I accepted an IT Operations Coordinator position in Fairbanks, Alaska. After years of building proof through school, labs, certifications, projects, and research, I finally had the opportunity to bring that foundation into a professional technology environment.
Now
Building experience from the inside
My work now includes IT operations, systems administration, vendor coordination, software and licensing management, device lifecycle support, documentation, troubleshooting, and process improvement. I am learning how technology actually operates inside an organization and how security connects to those everyday systems and decisions.
Cyber Grad Chronicles
Documenting the next chapter
Cyber Grad Chronicles continues to evolve with me. What started as a place to document learning and prove what I could do is now also a record of what happens after the first opportunity: learning on the job, building professional experience, and continuing toward cybersecurity.
Future
Continuing toward cybersecurity
The goal is still cybersecurity and threat intelligence. The path now includes a stronger operational foundation, real-world IT experience, and a better understanding of the systems, people, and business decisions security is meant to protect.
Long Term
Germany and graduate school
Long-term, I plan to build a cybersecurity career in Europe and pursue my master’s degree in Germany, focusing on threat intelligence, cybercrime, and adversary behavior.
The Turning Point
I built the proof before I had the opportunity. Then the opportunity finally came.
The labs, research, certifications, projects, applications, and hours spent building from Alaska eventually led to my first professional IT role in Fairbanks.
The challenge is different now. Instead of only proving that I can do the work, I get to learn how technology operates inside a real organization, build professional experience, and strengthen the foundation I will eventually bring into cybersecurity.
Career Journal
Reflections along the way.
The parts of the journey that do not fit neatly on a resume: relocation, rejection, uncertainty, building proof, getting the opportunity, and figuring out what comes next.
The Opportunity Finally Came
What changed when years of building proof and waiting finally became my first professional IT opportunity.
Read reflection →Proof Before Permission
Why I stopped waiting to be chosen and started building visible evidence through labs, research, projects, and public work.
Read reflection →Qualified, Capable, and Still Waiting
The chapter before the opportunity: what prolonged rejection taught me about the gap between preparation and being chosen.
Read reflection →Building from the Interior
The reflection behind building proof from a place people did not expect.
Read reflection →The Portable Career
How relocation, military spouse life, and rebuilding shaped the kind of career I wanted to create.
Read reflection →The Next Chapter
Getting the opportunity was not the finish line.
Working in IT operations is giving me a different kind of education: seeing how systems, vendors, devices, documentation, users, budgets, and security decisions connect inside a real organization.
The goal is still cybersecurity and threat intelligence. The path just looks different now that I am building professional experience from the inside.