EDUCATION
Wearing non-traditional with pride
I was a non-traditional student in many ways. When I attended college, I was a U.S. Navy veteran already established in life. I started working on my undergraduate degree at J Sargeant Reynolds Community College in 2016. When I transferred to VCU I satisfied every condition of being a non-traditional student and adult learner.
My elementary education was non-traditional as well. For much of my elementary education I was home schooled by the best teacher one could ask for, my mom. She believed whole heartedly in experiential learning and we incorporated science experiments, projects, and writing into almost everything we did.
When I did get to public school the advantage afforded by having such an individualized learning experience in my younger years helped to keep me ahead. This advantage carried into my studies at college and meshed well with VCU's focus on experiential (hands-on) learning.
Trades (Naval Nuclear Power Pipeline)
Naval Nuclear Power Training Command (Class 0502)
This nuclear machinist mate program is a twenty-four-week course in the mathematics, physics, chemistry, and reactor physics necessary to prepare reactor plant mechanical operators on naval vessels.
Nuclear Power Training Unit Charleston
This is the practical portion of the nuclear education pipeline where operators get to qualify on operational reactors for the first time. While it pales in comparison to what is learned in the fleet when a sailor qualifies on the platform they will ultimately spend most of their career on, it is good preparation for understanding the qualification process and the importance of plant safety.
Undergraduate Education
J Sargeant Reynolds Community College
I attended J Sargeant Reynolds Community College from Fall 2016 to Fall 2017.
Extracurricular activities: Founder and president of the Reynolds Linux User's Group, member of Phi Theta Kappa
GPA: 4.0
Virginia Commonwealth University
I transferred to VCU College of Engineering Spring of 2018 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in Spring 2020
Extracurricular activities: IEEE Student Branch Chair, member of the Cyber Security Club at VCU, member of the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition Team at VCU.
College of Engineering Capstone 1st Place
GPA: 4.0
Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition Team
Team Position: 1 of 2 Linux/Unix experts
Awards: 2nd Place 2019 MACCDC
Graduate Education
Virginia Commonwealth University
I started my Ph.D. in Dr. Erdem Topsakal's wireless communications laboratory in Fall of 2020. I finished the bachelor's to Ph.D. program in Fall of 2024, defending my dissertation on September 3rd. During that time I published 11 conference papers, 6 journal papers, and 1 book chapter.
GPA: 4.0
Dissertation
I defended my dissertation, "Hybrid Design Approaches for Reconfigurable EM Structures" on 9/3/2024.
https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/7840/
Degree Awarded: Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering with Concentration in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Degree Date: 12/21/2024