One intern who I met on the Ladies in Cybersecurity Convention (WiCyS) will at all times stand out to me as a result of I had a entrance row seat to her profession journey from Cisco intern to an incredible crew member: Anthea Gonzalez. I’ll admit to the bias of getting #latina, #latinaintech pleasure, however I even have nostalgia and immense pleasure for the brand new rent program I helped construct for the Cisco Safety & Belief Group. Through the years it has remained one of many packages the place I get to point out up essentially the most authentically, and it’s typically a reminder that that is the best solution to affect change. Being genuine about our identification and private dedication can type a robust bridge to serving to us join with others.
Why WiCyS?
I join with the WiCyS mission on a deeply private stage. I take into account myself many issues: a lady, Latina, immigrant, and extra. WiCyS’ mission to construct a robust cybersecurity workforce with gender fairness offers me the area to point out up as a extra genuine and more true model of myself. Balancing identities round being a lady and a lady of colour in a male-dominated subject lends itself to forcing you to select and select which components of your self to spotlight. WiCyS encourages us to interrupt these limiting limitations and is the safety trade occasion the place I’m most real, and I merely get pleasure from being there.
What’s your largest takeaway from the Ladies in Cybersecurity Convention?
My largest takeaway from WiCyS just isn’t an merchandise of branded swag or a profound piece of trade knowledge; it’s a particular person, Anthea Gonzalez. On the convention you meet and join with every kind of girls and allies, however Anthea stands out. With little introduction, she approached me and easily and earnestly acknowledged “thanks for current.” In that second, she vocalized one thing I had not completely understood earlier than how necessary it’s to seek out one other Latina in cybersecurity and the way necessary it’s to undertake the mission of recruitment, retention, and development as a private endeavor.
As our dialog continued, Anthea displayed:
- A drive for cybersecurity – particularly tips on how to higher shield the world and the individuals round her by means of forensics and superior safety tooling.
- The flexibility to advocate for her ardour properly, explaining the complexity of her pursuits in an enticing means.
- Her willingness to discover progressive concepts and applied sciences and settle for the position of life-long learner.
From our first dialog on the Ladies in Cybersecurity Convention, it was clear to me that Anthea had the talents wanted to tackle the vastness of in the present day’s risk panorama. I dedicated to advocating for her wherever I might, and in return she offered a perspective that impressed me to place a pointy deal with the significance of constructing advocacy and development a private and ongoing endeavor for me.
What affect did which have?
The straightforward reply? After that WiCyS Convention, we employed her. Anthea joined Cisco as an intern in Cisco’s Safety & Belief Group the summer season after we met. Over the summer season, she was capable of study, work with some extremely clever individuals, and make many new associates. Her time at Cisco was so impactful that she was prolonged a suggestion and joined us as a full-time worker in 2022. Anthea’s journey in cybersecurity is simply starting, and I’m glad to spotlight her worth and empower her at each alternative that I get.
Past Anthea’s success, the expertise actually cemented for me the significance that I present up greatest because the intersection of all my identities. I discovered that the best means for me to affect change is thru authenticity and private dedication. Making it private is how we bridge alternatives from in the present day to tomorrow, on the WiCyS Convention and past.
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