SFS 2010 Job Fair and Symposium
Just got back from the 2010 Scholarship for Service Annual Job Fair and Symposium yesterday afternoon, held at the Hilton Washington. I had every intention of blogging from the event, but with no free wireless service (or even wired in the rooms), I had to wait until today to do a little bit of retrospection.
The 3-day event was a flurry of activity, but every bit of it was useful and a lot of fun for over a hundred information security students, institutional PIs, and agency officials. I met several great people, in particular from Carnegie Mellon and the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), as well as a couple JHUISI alums. I’ll break it down by the day:
Day 1: Wednesday
The conference opened in the afternoon with welcomes and introductions by various staff from NSF, DHS, and OPM, to name a few. What followed, along with dinner, was an excellent panel consisting of previous SFS program alumni in various positions within the government. Their advice on topics such as navigating “red tape,” advancement opportunities, and selection of mentors was exceptionally helpful, especially for those new to federal employment.
The short day concluded after dinner with a few drinks at the Hilton’s sports bar with several Carnegie Mellon students. One of the things I enjoyed most about the conference was getting the chance to meet students from other programs. Despite our late start, most of us headed to bed early. The conference was surprisingly tiring!
Day 2: Thursday
The main thrust of Thursday, the only full day of the conference, was the Job Fair itself. Dozens of federal agencies were present, and it was a feeding frenzy for a while. Thankfully, the fair was split between the morning and evening, and lunch was accompanied by a presentation by Wesley McGrew from Mississippi State about his investigative work tracking-down a hacker who had infiltrated a hospital’s HVAC systems. The talk elicited several laughs and a hearty amount of applause afterward.
Later there was a short presentation on two separate hacking challenges, one of which, the well-known DC3 competition, had been won by an AFIT SFS team. Afterward, the CyberCorps Alumni Association held its annual meeting, showcasing its plans to create a strong community of current and graduated SFS and IASP students. I found their proposed initiatives to be quite inspiring, and I’d love to see their ideas brought to fruition.
Finally, dinner was served while listening to a talk by a senior analyst from the CIA. Afterward, I met with several students who had interest in law enforcement and computer forensics, all of whom, coincidentally, were from AFIT. I had never realized just how different environments JHU and AFIT were until I asked about getting a research paper and was told, “Can’t — I think it’s FOUO.” Very different from the open environment of the University!
Day 3: Friday
Friday was another short day. Breakfast was served while listening to a presentation from OPM about working for the government for the first time. Even for those of us with prior experience, it was very detailed and the representative was quite helpful in answering specific questions and concerns.
It was closely-followed by the Keynote Presentation by Melissa Hathaway, of “Former Acting Senior Director for Cyberspace for the National Security and Homeland Security Councils” fame. She has quite a presence! Her somewhat sobering message about the country’s current susceptibility of cyber attack was surprisingly fresh and unique, even with such an oft-cited subject. Her choice to meet with attendees beforehand to know what to focus-on was also a nice touch. After a few closing remarks, we all checked-out and headed in our separate directions.
After all was said and done, I was tired but happy to meet so many like-minded security professionals at the conference. If we’re to be the future of our nation’s cyber security, then I’m excited to see just what that future holds.
I look forward to attending the SFS Job Fair and Symposium in 2011!
- David Oxley
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