Mount Saint Mary College student Jameson Suraci of Hopewell Junction, N.Y., a Cybersecurity major, landed an analyst intern position at West Point Military Academy for the Fall 2022 semester.
Suraci is a Cybersecurity Analyst intern, working with software programs such as Microsoft Sentinel and Azure to complete log analytics, as well as identifying malicious software on West Point’s networks to track failed attacks.
Back in October of 2021, the Mount hosted mock interviews with Ryan Bellows, IT Specialist at West Point. Suraci worked closely with Robin Rosenberg, a Career Counselor from the Mount’s Career Center, to build a strong résumé for the mock interviews. Suraci notes that he received an “immeasurable” amount of knowledge and support from his professor, advisor, and mentor Sagar Raina, associate professor of Information Technology, who introduced Suraci to the Cybersecurity major during his application process in 2020.
Suraci’s experience so far has been a success, aside from challenges like learning a completely new coding language – Kusto Query Language (KQL) – that he notes, is definitely not beginner friendly.
“I’ve learned to be patient and stay focused on the end goal and why I got the internship in the first place,” said Suraci.
He added, “It is just a surreal experience being surrounded by all the men and women who serve and protect our country… you will not see anything like it, as a civilian, anywhere else.”
At the start of October – Cybersecurity Awareness Month – the Mount announced the establishment of its Center for Cybersecurity, which will be a useful resource to both Mount students and the local community. The center brings expert speakers to campus, provides cyber defense resources to the campus and the community, and more.
The Mount’s Cybersecurity program provides hands-on skills to identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities in software, operating systems, networks, and more. A major or concentration in Cybersecurity at the Mount can lead to careers in technology, security software, defense, government, business, and beyond.