Asan undergraduate student, finding an internship was a herculean task anyone wentthrough before the summer break.

I become very happy when I received an emailoffering me an internship opportunity at the ‘so called’ company and willinglygave out all my credentials including my visa card information. As innocent asI was, my meager monthly allowance was at the mercy of these thieves. Prior tothat incident I’d heard of security breaches into accounts of individuals andprominent financial companies, but as a lay man I shrugged and figured thiswasn’t my problem. After going through the frustration of blocking my visaaccount and changing all my passwords, I wouldn’t wish for any of juniorundergraduate students to go through the same ordeal. Through this experience Ihave developed extreme interest in how information can be undermined and put meon the quest to stop this canker and the main reason my I want to pursue mygraduate studies in Cybersecurity.  Myfirst real introduction to Computer Security was my eighth semester in myundergraduate studies. With fundamental concepts such as different types andmotives of hackers with an extension look at the TCP/IP model and how toexploit it excited my interest in cybersecurity.

In order to learn more aboutthe field, I decided to take the CCNA Security certification. As a prerequisitefor the certification I had to take the CCNA Routing and Switchingcertification. I successfully completed the CCNA Routing and Switchingcertification and currently making preparations to take the CCNA Security certificationto top up my knowledge in Computer security from my Bachelor degree in ComputerScience.

In order to have practical insights into Network Security had theopportunity to intern at a medium sized ISP and worked as a NOC Engineer whichequipped me with the relevant skills in troubleshooting enterprise networks andmitigating security threats. Obtaining a First Class Honors has earned me arole as Teaching and Research Assistant at Department of Computer Science atthe Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology as a service to mycountry. As part of my voluntary service, I organized a cisco boot camp for mystudents to train and give them hands on experience with simulations incomputer networking to in order for themto have a practical feel of what theyare taught in class.    Ghana,my home country is moving into a digital age with the introduction of digitizedand information systems.

With the advent of these new technologies in Ghana,any person with malicious intent can hack into any of these databases and causeharm. A further study of cybersecurity will help me amass the necessary skillsto help implement robust security policies and secure industry practices tohelp combat cybercrimes in the future as my patriotic duty. In orderto acquire these skills, I’d like to study at a reputable university as yourswith diversity in culture and experienced faculty members in my chosen field ofstudy. It is no secret that University of Electronic Science and Technology ofChina has cutting edge research and state of the laboratories. Located atChengdu, the center for science, Technology and culture, I have no doubt inacquiring the necessary skills to achieve my goal of becoming an informationsecurity expert since many topof the top notch enterprises such as Motorola, Siemens, Intel, and Microsofttake root here,establishing their factories and research bases.

Chengducharacterized by its leisure lifestyle of its civilian residents, will enable aserene and conducive atmosphere both for learning and socializing. Taking all these factors intoconsideration I would like to apply to your university as a prospective studentand hope that given the opportunity I would enhance the university’s reputationin addition to my own professional pursuits. Thankyou for taking the time to review my application.

 BrightAfari Kobina Arhin.