One intern who I met on the Ladies in Cybersecurity Convention (WiCyS) will all the time stand out to me as a result of I had a entrance row seat to her profession journey from Cisco intern to an incredible crew member: Anthea Gonzalez. I’ll admit to the bias of getting #latina, #latinaintech pleasure, however I even have nostalgia and immense pleasure for the brand new rent program I helped construct for the Cisco Safety & Belief Group. Over time it has remained one of many applications the place I get to indicate up essentially the most authentically, and it’s typically a reminder that that is the best technique to affect change. Being genuine about our id and private dedication can kind a robust bridge to serving to us join with others.
Why WiCyS?
I join with the WiCyS mission on a deeply private stage. I take into account myself many issues: a lady, Latina, immigrant, and extra. WiCyS’ mission to construct a robust cybersecurity workforce with gender fairness offers me the house to indicate up as a extra genuine and more true model of myself. Balancing identities round being a lady and a lady of shade in a male-dominated area lends itself to forcing you to choose and select which elements of your self to focus on. WiCyS encourages us to interrupt these limiting limitations and is the safety business occasion the place I’m most real, and I merely get pleasure from being there.
What’s your largest takeaway from the Ladies in Cybersecurity Convention?
My largest takeaway from WiCyS just isn’t an merchandise of branded swag or a profound piece of business knowledge; it’s a particular person, Anthea Gonzalez. On the convention you meet and join with all types of ladies and allies, however Anthea stands out. With little introduction, she approached me and easily and earnestly said “thanks for present.” In that second, she vocalized one thing I had not completely understood earlier than how necessary it’s to seek out one other Latina in cybersecurity and the way necessary it’s to undertake the mission of recruitment, retention, and development as a private endeavor.
As our dialog continued, Anthea displayed:
- A drive for cybersecurity – particularly the right way to higher defend the world and the folks round her by forensics and superior safety tooling.
- The power to advocate for her ardour effectively, explaining the complexity of her pursuits in a fascinating method.
- Her willingness to discover revolutionary concepts and applied sciences and settle for the position of life-long learner.
From our first dialog on the Ladies in Cybersecurity Convention, it was clear to me that Anthea had the abilities wanted to tackle the vastness of right now’s menace panorama. I dedicated to advocating for her wherever I might, and in return she offered a perspective that impressed me to place a pointy deal with the significance of constructing advocacy and development a private and ongoing endeavor for me.
What impression did which have?
The easy reply? After that WiCyS Convention, we employed her. Anthea joined Cisco as an intern in Cisco’s Safety & Belief Group the summer time after we met. Over the summer time, she was capable of be taught, work with some extremely clever folks, and make many new associates. Her time at Cisco was so impactful that she was prolonged a suggestion and joined us as a full-time worker in 2022. Anthea’s journey in cybersecurity is simply starting, and I’m glad to focus on her worth and empower her at each alternative that I get.
Past Anthea’s success, the expertise actually cemented for me the significance that I present up finest because the intersection of all my identities. I discovered that the best method for me to affect change is thru authenticity and private dedication. Making it private is how we bridge alternatives from right now to tomorrow, on the WiCyS Convention and past.
We’d love to listen to what you suppose. Ask a Query, Remark Beneath, and Keep Related with Cisco Safe on social!
Cisco Safe Social Channels
Share:
