Hera Malik '23

First Port: SOC Analyst at Hunt & Hackett

Major: Computer Science

What are you most excited about for your Next Port?

I'm very excited to live in the Netherlands and in a city that is at the center of European cybersecurity, the opportunities for me to grow seem endless!

What piece of advice would you give to yourself as a first-year student?

Expect your plans to change. In freshman year, it's always easy to draw your life plans out on a piece of paper, but life is capable of throwing you some crazy curveballs that can make or break you.

Was there a faculty or staff member, or department that specially helped you land your Next Port?

Dr. Dvorak, who was my first advisor at UP, got me into cybersecurity in the first place. She encouraged me to participate in my first CTF, which ended up transforming to a passion for the field. Dr. Vegdahl over the years has continually challenged the way I think about learning new things, and his classes prepared me to handle high-stress situations. Finally, Andrew Ridenour from IS supervised my very first professional steps into cybersecurity while I was part of the team, and helped me decide that this is really the field I want to continue working in.