CodeHS Student Journey: a Passion for Cybersecurity
By Kaitlyn Knabe, a Cybersecurity Purdue Graduate
My name is Kaitlyn Knabe, I recently graduated with a Cybersecurity degree from Purdue University. I came to Purdue solely for my major, in fact, when I applied to colleges, I only applied to those with cybersecurity majors. I also have an English minor which I picked up for fun because I have always loved English courses.
I first started coding my freshman year of high school. It was in my math class, but my teacher, Mr. Keays, had given us extra credit to complete an online coding course on our own time. I had never done anything like coding before, and I loved it. After taking the online course, I decided to research the computer science classes my school offered. From there, I ended up taking AP CSA, and AP CSP with CodeHS. Going into CodeHS I had already gained a solid foundational understanding of coding in Java from taking AP CSA. CodeHS’ interface is very user-friendly. All of the projects have a visual component that allows you to see a physical outcome, and the gratification from getting an object on the screen to do what you want is always motivating.
In college, I took Java, JavaScript, SQL, Bash, C#, and C mainly in college. Of those, SQL is my favorite because I love the power of databases and being able to pull information out that otherwise goes unseen. SQL was also the largest learning curve for me because it doesn’t follow the same structure as other languages like Java or C++, and I naturally love a challenge.
I graduated from Purdue in May and I already had a job lined up after graduation, so yes! I have been lucky enough to intern in network engineering, cyber risk consulting, cyber forensic consulting, and even work in a high tech crime unit with law enforcement, so I know for a fact that there is no world in which I won’t be doing computer science as part of my career. My passion lies in digital forensics, so I hope one day I’d be able to own my own forensic consulting firm.
Tips for Young Coders
I keep talking about how I am in cybersecurity, and you will probably have noticed I am not saying computer science. My inspiration and passion for computer science started in high school and I absolutely loved it. However, when I had to make the big decision on what I wanted to do in college I didn’t necessarily know if computer science was for me. Sitting for hours trying to find a bug or syntax error in my code was frustrating even though I loved the satisfaction of a successful project. It was more instant gratification than long-term. So for me, cybersecurity ended up being the perfect combination. I still get to code, but I also get to play with so many other aspects of computers like networks, forensics, penetration testing, and incident response. But, I would have never gotten to this place had computer science not been the gateway.
Also, for my girls out there, CS may be a male-dominated field, but that is quickly changing, and the clubs, organizations, and groups for females who code are phenomenal. It may be intimidating at the beginning for some, but it is beyond worth it. I founded Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) at my school, and we have over 160 members now, so there is definitely a space for you out there.
