Student Testmonials

Quinn Monsen – Technology Systems Product Development Graduate

My educational journey began at Utah State University with Child Psychology back in 2002. I later decided to pursue an automotive career at Wyotech in Laramie, WY. After working in the automotive industry for nine years, I felt that it was time for a change. I discovered the Outdoor Product Design and Development major offered at USU. The most thrilling aspect of the program was that I could imagine with my mind and still work with my hands! The major was great, and I learned a lot from it. At heart, I have that tremor of an urge to rapidly disassemble something and put it back together. This natural urge led me to technology systems, which opened the door to my career path in manufacturing and product development. Through the program, I learned about manufacturing with injection molding and 3D prototyping as well as establishing supply chains for new and mature businesses. By building prototypes myself, I learned the hardships of product development through trial and error. The entire program was a fantastic springboard to a foundational understanding of the prototype process.

Jessica Gordon – Current Technology Systems Cybersecurity Student

Growing up I always knew that I wanted to have a career in STEM, especially because of the under-represented demographic of women in the industry. In high school, I took an intro to computer science class and really enjoyed programming, and I figured that would be a good place to start. As I took more computer science classes at Utah State, I began to further my love of technology and learn more about the technological revolution we live in today. I ended up switching my major to relate more to cyber security in my junior year here at USU because I wanted to do something more hands-on, and I have loved it ever since. Being a student at Utah State has also helped me get my job at the Space Dynamics Laboratory here in North Logan as an information system security officer, and the combination of my schooling and experience I am gaining at SDL has helped me progress so much. I am very fortunate to have both opportunities and I am excited to see where this takes me in my career.

I chose the technology systems cybersecurity emphasis major because of my love for the technology industry, and the opportunity to constantly be learning throughout my career. I also liked the fact that I would be getting a general technological overview with a cybersecurity perspective in mind. As the world of cybersecurity is vast and the specialties are endless, I figured this would give me a good opportunity to get a general overview of the industry, and then focus on something specific that I really enjoy.

In the future, I would like to pursue a master’s degree in Cybersecurity or something similar (cryptography, networking, etc.) as I continue my career and find a specialty I really enjoy. Long term, I would love to work for the CIA or FBI as a cybersecurity analyst. I also really love the legal aspect of things, and I am looking into law school and the possibility of becoming a tech and cyber attorney. As long as I have a career in technology where I am constantly learning, I’ll be happy.

Something that I have really loved about this program is the accessibility of the professors and their willingness to help other students learn as much as they can. I can tell that each professor has a passion for what they do and for the topics they teach, and I believe that’s why I have loved learning all the topics thus far.