Around middle school, I joined a local mariachi academy where I grew closer to my culture and music, and first learned about my love for the arts. This was a major turning point in my life, as this was my first major endeavor into anything and would forever have an impact on my life as an artist along the way.

Throughout my time there, I gained invaluable artistic experience and learned to play guitar. I played in several events with the mariachi around NYC and with numerous Mexican artists. Having played in restaurants, parties, parades, and stages, this was an amazing experience that first showed me the world on stage.

After some time, I started my first experience in teaching, teaching the basics of guitar to beginners at the academy. This would be the first of many years to come of sharing my expertise with others and learning what it means to be a teacher.

After having been part of the mariachi, I wanted to continue in the arts and decided to apply and audition for Frank Sinatra High School of the Arts in Astoria. Here, I would hone my skills as a singer and had the opportunity to perform in many more high-profile locations in New York City such as Radio City Music Hall and on a Broadway stage. I would even perform as ensemble and several minor roles in the school's production of RENT.

Even before my time at FSSA, I knew my dream career would lie elsewhere. Since I first touched a computer in elementary school, I knew it would define my future — and that direction was solidified sometime in 8th grade. I got my hands on an old phone and decided to put what I had been reading about to the test. Using Metasploit, I compromised the device and gained full control: camera, microphone, files. Watching it work in practice, seeing the gap between a system existing and a system being secure, made something click that no article ever had. That was the moment I stopped thinking of cybersecurity as a career option and started seeing it as something I had to pursue.

I carried that with me throughout high school. I taught myself to code in Python, independently researched security topics, and spent my final two years at FSSA narrowing in on universities with dedicated cybersecurity programs.

After looking at many different universities and colleges, I decided that my heart would be set on St. John's University and their cybersecurity program. During my initial time there, the struggle to adapt would prove to be a challenge, but at the end of my 2nd year, I would start my collaborations with my peers and the school itself.

After visiting my first STJ ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) Club meeting — a cybersecurity CTF — I knew I had to put my efforts into that club and consequently, the STJ cybersecurity team (Cyberstorm) that I had been recruited to due to the CTF. After several meetings and motivation to be involved, I was invited to join the executive board of the ACM club during my 3rd year, and then elected as Vice-President in my 4th year. During my time there, I organized club workshops and hackathons where a sizable number of students participated.

The cybersecurity team was another amazing opportunity I was able to be a part of. When I was recruited, it was around the same time when I first joined the ACM club. Since then, I was part of an amazing team that competed with other universities on the local, state, and national level. I took part in many of these competitions and was eventually selected Captain of the team at St. John's.

Now that I've graduated, I'm stepping into the next chapter — one I want to spend on cybersecurity research, particularly at the intersection of OSINT, social engineering, and technical exploitation of connected systems. I plan to keep competing, keep building (tools, ranges, small CTF challenges of my own), and eventually pursue graduate studies in the field.

I have always believed that the best way to learn is to teach, and I carry that forward as I step into the next chapter — building, teaching, and reaching toward whatever comes next.