Greetings fellow human, if you are reading this, then there is a high probability that you are a member of my CS 467 cohort at Oregon State University! However, this blog is not exclusively for students enrolled in that course, so stick around even if you aren’t taking that course or if you aren’t a student at OSU. You can expect posts to sometimes explain concepts that may seem quite straightforward to you if you are technologically savvy like myself, but that straightforwardness is intended to ensure maximum accessibility. That said, let me formally introduce myself so you can begin to understand the person behind this blog.
My name is Sean Mack and I am currently a Post-Baccalaureate Computer Science student at Oregon State University. My first degree is a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, which I obtained from the first co-racial and co-educational college in the South-Berea College. If you don’t know much about the field of sociology, in a nutshell, it is the analysis of human society, how it is organized, and how our world functions. While I certainly do not regret pursuing this area of study, I came to realize I desired to work in the field of cybersecurity instead of social work. I have the Covid-19 lockdowns, TryHackMe, Kali Linux, and a bit of the hacker mindset to thank for that realization! I’ll probably write an entire blog post about this realization at some point, so definitely be on the lookout for that! But for now, I’m going to speak about my experience at OSU, my future career endeavors, and a bit about my personal life.
I started at OSU in the summer of 2022 and have found the experience to be quite enjoyable for the most part. Sure, a bit stressful at times, especially this past term when I took OS1, Cryptography, and Software Engineering 2 during the eight week summer session. I’ve gotten extremely involved with the OSU Cybersecurity Club (OSUSEC) by participating in weekly meetings/ctfs and competing in the U.S. Department of Energy’s cyber-defense competition. I also recently began working as a student analyst at the OSU Security Operations Center. This employment experience has not only allowed me to further solidify my confidence in my choice to pursue cybersecurity as a career endeavor, but also shown me that I really love the investigative work that comes with working in defensive cybersecurity. Given my current experience and career interests, the malware analysis capstone project option is the perfect opportunity for me to gain more hands-on experience in the very field I am working in and for which I have a passion. I’m not entirely sure if I want to become a full time malware analyst. Regardless, I know I will gain valuable skills that help me in whatever area of defensive cyber security I end up in.
Now my experiences at OSU would not be possible without the support of my partner and our six (yes six!) cats. One of our cats is deaf and he absolutely loves to be taken outside in his cat stroller. Thus, whenever the weather is warm enough here in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, my partner and I walk him in his stroller, which gives him outdoor time and gives us exercise. My partner and I also enjoy going to film conventions and meeting the actors/actresses/cast/crew from our favorite shows and movies (especially Gilmore Girls), even though we can’t take our fur babies with us. I also enjoy playing video games, tinkering around with my Debian installation, trying new recipes on the Blackstone, and striving for social justice in the community.
I’m looking forward to continuing this blog. I’ve been wanting to have a place to share some of my experiences in a more public forum, so this is a wonderful opportunity to do so! While some of these early posts are going to be specifically focused on my experiences in CS 467, I am genuinely excited to be writing about my passions of cybersecurity, technology, and sociology. Looking forward to whatever the future holds!
– Sean Mack
