I was introduced to Antonio early 2021 as he was looking for a summer internship in a cybersecurity organization. His neighbor and my friend, Mireille, suggested he’d check out The Triangle Net. After a great introductory chat, I provided a bunch of resources to help Antonio on his journey into cybersecurity, both educational and professional. I also made an introduction to Agio and he took care of the rest.
Antonio worked as an intern for an entire year, not just summer, at Agio! We reconnected to see what was next and in addition to learning the cybersecurity ropes, Antonio really wanted to learn more about sales and customer success. He does have the personality for a customer-facing role in his soon to be professional life. The wheels started turning and the opportunity presented itself that my customer success team at CyberSaint Security really needed a hand with a few strategic initiatives we were launching.
In addition, Antonio seemed very interested in giving my podcast, Journey into Cybersecurity, a second life. And here you have it: if you can dream it, you can do it! Meet Antonio, the Cybersecurity student, intern and podcast co-host… Not bad for a 22-year old kid graduating with a BS in Cybersecurity in a few months.
Lessons Learned from Antonio
Experience matters as much if not more than education if you want to break into cybersecurity.
Biography
At the time of this recording, Antonio Chousa is a senior at St. John’s University in New York pursuing a Bachelor’s in Science – Cybersecurity. Antonio has gained some work experience in Cybersecurity through Internships at Agio and CyberSaint Security. These experiences have helped him understand the various domains within cyber. At Agio, an MSSP and Cyber Consulting firm, Antonio learned more about the technical aspects of cyber consulting. At CyberSaint, he learned more about software services supporting Integrated Risk Management and the Customer Success Management roles and responsibilities.
Antonio also joined The Triangle Net as an intern in between these 2 internships, where he became a podcast co-host and learned a thing or two about community outreach, marketing and podcast development. He supported Cathy Olieslaeger, Founder of The Triangle Net and Customer Success Director at CyberSaint Security, with her presentation “Integrated Risk Management for Dummies” at the annual Raleigh ISSA InfoSeCon 2022 conference. This was the first cybersecurity conference he attended and he loved it!
Credits
Music by Wolves: “Life Stories”, “Kenya”, “We Make It”
