Some people view crises and challenges as things to avoid. But for third-year computer science student Samantha (Sam) Anguiano, a headlining cyber crisis that occurred while she was in high school inspired her to dive headlong into the complex world of cybersecurity.
“I got interested in cybersecurity after hearing about the Equifax data breach,” Anguiano said.
The breach resulted in the exposure of 147 million people’s private information, and a global settlement of up to $425 million, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Anguiano hails from Pico Rivera, California, and is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in computer science with an emphasis in cybersecurity. Anguiano was drawn to Boise State’s diverse cybersecurity course offerings.
“I decided to study cyber at Boise State because Boise State is making major investments in furthering the field of cybersecurity as a whole by providing different programs and classes for students to grow their knowledge on cyber topics,” Anguiano said. “It also has plenty of opportunities to get hands-on experience in the cybersecurity field, many coming from the Institute of Pervasive Cybersecurity.”
From her coursework, Anguiano says that the evolution of encryption has been especially fascinating, and following graduation she hopes to work in software development and risk analysis. Her ultimate goal is to help the common computer user to gain cybersecurity competency and safety.
“Over the last few years, I have learned so much that I feel should be common knowledge to all technology users so that we can all do our part in preventing attacks and breaches from happening,” Anguiano said.
Anguiano said the best piece of advice she has received is that “In order to succeed, we must become okay with failure. Failing helps us learn and grow in ways we may not imagine.”
The Western Undergraduate Exchange scholarship and the Langroise Honors Scholarship are supporting Anguiano’s study at Boise State.