Joshua Meranda

Lenora Batcher

How has your Champlain experience prepared you for your future career, both in and out of the classroom?

Overall, I’d say the combination of class experience, work experience, and independent life has really helped me to be ready for what comes next, however that may look or wherever that may be. Watching upperclassmen move forward in their own careers encourages me for when it will be my turn to inspire those coming in after me. I feel a lot more confident knowing that people in the same place and from the same program have graduated to do great things and be successful in all walks of life.

How has Core changed your perspective (of self, of community, of the world)?

It was fascinating to be in core classes where I was surrounded by so many people of different backgrounds and beliefs. The classes I took did not shy away from the more sensitive topics, but dove right in to examine them while at the same time making it clear that no matter what our views were, each of us was accepted within the class.

What advice do you have for students thinking about coming to Champlain for college?

Do it. I applied to Champlain on a whim, never having heard of it before. I visited once at admitted student’s day and now I’m going into my third year. I love the small size and the tight-knit community, the closeness of all the buildings and the friendliness of all the instructors. There’s a good variety of people on campus and an equally good variety of programs for those who want to branch out. I’m really happy here, and I’m very blessed to have found a place like this.

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Jonathan Castro

Specialization

Cyber Threats & Mitigation

Internship

Cyber Security Intern at Boingo Wireless in Los Angeles, CA

Post-Grad Job

Associate Consultant at The Crypsis Group in Los Angeles, CA

What made you choose the Computer & Digital Forensics major?

I realized that [Digital Forensics] was what I’ve always wanted to do, I just didn’t know it was an actual profession—as far as I knew, it was what detectives did. When it came time for the application process I emailed the Senior Analyzer for Digital Forensics at DirecTV and I asked him which school he recommended for Digital Forensics and he essentially told me that if I was really serious about the major to go to Champlain College. The interns he’s had in the past from Champlain have by far been the best. It was sort of a no-brainer. Go to Champlain College because it has a good reputation in the industry.

Can you tell us about your work with The Leahy Center for Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity?

The thing I love about the Leahy Center is that it’s an actual world-class laboratory that allows students to do ground-breaking research their first year there. Although they [classes and the Leahy Center] both teach real-world things, at the Leahy Center there are real-world consequences. In class, if I do something wrong I can just start over, but at the Leahy Center if I’m doing research and I mess something up, I have to start the whole project over because the evidence I had has been tampered with and it won’t be proper to analyze.

Have you had any internships in your field?

I was a security engineer at a small company called Boingo Wireless and what they do is that they distribute wifi for major venues like airports and military bases.When I got there, within the first week I was actually confronted by the director and he said, “Hey, I don’t know if you don’t feel comfortable or not, but always feel comfortable to ask questions during meetings,” because during the first week I essentially attended every meeting that they had. He was surprised when I told him, I actually understood everything—that was the reason I wasn’t asking any questions.
Towards the end of the internship they were trying to get me to get Champlain grads to work at Boingo because of the fact that they saw me as a sophomore and how experienced I’d been.

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Dillon Drummond

What drew you to your major?

In middle school, I wanted to be a game designer and started looking up information about what a designer does. When I was in high school, I was lucky enough that my area had a technical school with all sorts of specialized classes. Some of those classes were in programming and we even had two classes specifically about making games. After my first programming class, I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

So far, what classes, projects, subjects, or experiences have been most meaningful or impactful?

I think that the Game Studio classes have been the most impactful. I enjoy all of the programming classes and their topics, (in fact, they are my favorite classes), but it is important to know how to work as a team. Games aren’t typically made by a single person these days. Even most indie games are at least made by a small team. Game Studio classes have allowed me to build upon my teamwork skills and create products that are more than the sum of my own work.

Describe the Champlain community. Did it meet/differ from your expectations?

Wherever you go, no matter who you are, you are almost guaranteed to find a group of people that will accept you. I did not expect to make so many friends while I was here, but now, nearly everywhere I go, I can find someone I know.

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