Meet Jonathan Gardin, a CECS Student Advisory Council member double majoring in Applied Cybersecurity and Japanese Studies.
What interested you in CECS?
“I was drawn by the academic freedom that CECS offers, the flexibility, and the courses I can take.”
What is your major/minor/certificate?
“I’m an Applied Cybersecurity major and a Japanese Studies major.”
Why do you want to pursue cybersecurity?
“I took a career interest survey in high school, and my results said I might enjoy cybersecuirty. When I started dabbling in it and learning more about it, it was pretty interesting to me. I learned about the [Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Attack]—that’s what really drew me in, and I wanted to know more about it, what went wrong, and how stuff like that can be prevented in the future.”
What else are you involved in on campus?
“I’m part of the Vols Japanese Culture Association, the Martial Arts Club, and the Russian Language and Culture Club.”
What is your favorite part about being a CECS student?
“I enjoy the opportunity to do transdisciplinary studies that I maybe would not get in another college.”
What is a favorite course you have taken?
“My favorite course is Cyber 101. My professor was Dr. Vllasi. He was really engaging, and he had a lot of interesting stories to connect what we were learning to the real-world.”
If you could tell other students about CECS, what would you tell them?
“CECS is very career oriented, but it also offers a lot of flexibility. I’ve been able to double major in Japanese and connect those studies to my CECS studies which will hopefully prepare me for a career in Japan in the future!”
What do you hope to do after graduation?
“I want to work for a Japanese technology company someday. The Japanese work culture interests me because they invest a lot of resources into people to keep them long term. It’s a bit different from the American work culture where people work somewhere for a couple of years and then usually switch.”
“My dream job would involve something with the human connection with cybersecurity, possibly improving the relationship between people and cybersecurity.”