Student Introductions and Backgrounds – Cybersecurity and Legal Concepts in Practice

Introduction (Classmates Post)

Post 1

Alvin Joy Melendez posted

Good evening to everyone.

            My name is Alvin Joy Melendez, and I usually go by Alvin or Joy. I live in Maryland. I work as an Air Force intelligence analyst for the US Cyber Command, and I am coming up for my retirement towards the end of this year. (YAY!!!).

          My hobbies and interests include traveling, amusement parks, and anything electronic, including electric vehicles, computers, and video games. I have a side hustle of buying, selling, and refurbishing old video game consoles, and to my surprise, I made a good portion of my income last year doing that. 

          When I retire, I would like to move away from the intelligence career field into cybersecurity, but more than likely I would take whatever offer is more beneficial for my future. 

I’m taking this class for two reasons: first, it’s a requirement for my degree, and second, it would be beneficial for me to know legal concepts better and understand the equities and legal guidelines in my role at CYBERCOM so that when they come up in discussions, I’m educated about what’s being said and can be more effective while performing my daily duties.

Looking forward to this class and to learning from everyone. 

Post 2

Austin Rehiel posted

Dr. Rutherford and Classmates,

Good evening, everyone! My name’s Austin Rehiel. I’m on active duty in the Army and currently stationed in Pennsylvania as a recruiter. I live here with my wife. We recently got married in November 2023, and our goofy rescue Pitbull named Trooper; the name was the wife’s idea. My hobbies include physical fitness, playing with the dog, reading, and hanging out with my wife. 

I’m taking this class as part of my degree program, Cybersecurity, focusing on Critical Infrastructure. I hope to graduate and earn a commission in the Army as a 17B Electromagnetic Warfare Officer. My background is in Air Defense Artillery and Field Artillery, specifically the radar systems. That background and a cybersecurity degree would allow me to have the best possible chance of getting selected for that specific officer MOS. 

The topic of biometrics has intrigued me since I started my degree path, but I know very little about the subject. Every class I’ve taken so far, at least related to security-specific topics, all are proponents of using biometric devices to restrict access to only authorized people. None of those classes explained biometrics, how effective they are, where their place is in a physical security setting is, if there are other security areas it can be used in, etc. I hope to learn from the material, the professor, and all of you taking this class with me. Let’s learn something new, and for those of you with experience in this subject, I’m excited to learn your viewpoints and observations as people who explore this subject and utilize it in the real world. Best of luck, everyone!