Education

It took me two attempts at college before I acquired a degree. The first time was right after I completed my enlistment in the Army. I enrolled at the local university and withdrew after just a couple of weeks. It seemed to me at the time that I was being taught the same material that I had learned in high school, only this time I was having to pay for it. I had to go out into the workforce for about twelve years before I developed an appreciation for having a college degree. Once I got past the general education portion, I found that I really enjoyed college. I am currently working on a Doctorate degree in Information Technology. If all goes as planned, I should complete it in mid 2025.  

Master's Degree in Computer Science

When I was part of the way through my undergraduate degree, the university created a new degree in Information Systems Security. It didn't make sense at that point to change my major so I completed the computer science bachelor's degree program. There was a lot of flexibility as to what classes I could take as part of the university's master's degree program, so I took as many classes as I could that were part of the Information Systems Security degree's curriculum. Although my master's degree is in computer science, the curriculum was almost exclusively about systems security and information assurance. I also became a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society.  

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

I completed my undergraduate education at the University of Illinois at Springfield. I graduated with a 4.0 GPA and was a member of Upsilon Pi Epsilon international honor society. The computer science program at UIS offers two degree tracks. One has an emphasis on writing code and the other on systems security and information assurance. I participated in the latter. UIS is also designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) jointly sponsor the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) Program. The goal of this program is to reduce vulnerability in our national information infrastructure by promoting higher education and research in cybersecurity and producing a growing number of professionals with cybersecurity expertise in various disciplines. 

Associate's Degree in Computer Science

I attended John Wood Community College for the first part of my college education. I graduated with a 4.0 GPA and was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society.