In summer 2021, UFIT reached out to Santa Fe College to initiate a partnership for students from populations underrepresented in technology fields. This new internship program provides hands-on work experience and mentoring by UFIT staff. Eight interns began their work experience this fall, and three–Joseph, Lauren, and Jerrell–chose to intern with UF’s Information Security Office. Here’s a brief look at our information security interns:
Joseph who has already earned his A.S. in Network Security, has learned a lot thus far, including how the risk assessment process works and the security aspects of firewalls.
“I learned how to categorize risk assessments. Risk assessments help with security because you are looking from the outside in and it gives you better insight when analyzing how data flows through the network.”
Programming major Lauren wants to become a QA engineer. She likes testing and making sure apps are secure and accessible to everyone, especially those with special needs. “I am very grateful for this internship and appreciate how patient everyone is as I learn new tools like T4. I want to try to help everyone because I know technology can be difficult for some.”
Information Systems Security major Jerrell plans on earning a master’s in cybersecurity information assurance and then work in penetration testing. He has gained much from this internship: “I’ve learned a lot about HIPAA and FERPA compliance, and enjoy sitting in with the monitoring team, which is an area I’m interested in professionally. ISO staff have given me career advice, and I appreciate them pushing and guiding me into my purpose.”
