A recent East Texas A&M University graduate put his cybersecurity education to work this summer through a highly competitive internship with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Tyler Pham, a Houston native who earned his Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity from ETAMU in May, was one of six students selected from more than 350 applicants for the Homeland Security Professional Opportunities for Student Workforce to Experience Research (HS-POWER) program.

Pham worked with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia area, primarily supporting cyber threat intelligence and cyber threat hunting.

His work included researching cyber threat actors, malware, vulnerabilities and attack techniques to help develop threat assessments and reports. He also analyzed security data from enterprise systems for signs of malicious activity, investigating suspicious network connections, processes and account activity that could indicate a cyberattack.

“The opportunity stood out to me because it gave me a chance to take what I had learned in cybersecurity at ETAMU and apply it in a real federal cybersecurity environment,” Pham said.

Pham completed his degree through ETAMU at East Texas A&M-RELLIS in Bryan. The 120-credit-hour Cybersecurity program prepares students to assess and protect computer and network systems, with coursework covering areas including networking, cryptography, security system design, digital forensics and artificial intelligence. Students also have opportunities for hands-on learning through resources including the Texas Cyber Range, SCADA Laboratory and Internet of Things Apartment Laboratory.

The RELLIS campus brings together ETAMU and other institutions in The Texas A&M University System to offer academic programs and conduct research in fields including cybersecurity, robotics, autonomous and connected vehicles, and advanced manufacturing.

While at ETAMU, Pham served as president of the Science, Technology and Computing Club. He credits ETAMU instructor and club sponsor Amy Hays with providing mentorship throughout his undergraduate experience.

“She helped me when I had trouble and would give great guidance when it came to organization activities, career advice or just general life advice,” Pham said. “She was a great mentor that I looked up to.”

Pham is entering a field with significant projected growth. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of information security analysts will increase 21% from 2025 to 2035, significantly faster than the 3% average projected for all occupations. The agency projects about 14,100 openings for information security analysts each year during the decade.

Following his DHS internship, Pham began pursuing a Master of Science in Management Information Systems at Texas A&M University's Mays Business School. He hopes to pursue cybersecurity and information technology roles in the public sector before eventually moving into leadership and potentially building or managing an IT consulting company.

His advice to students considering cybersecurity is simple: Gain hands-on experience and pursue opportunities even when they seem daunting.

“I would encourage students not to feel like they have to know everything before applying for internships or other opportunities,” Pham said. “Apply anyway. A lot of learning happens once you are put into an environment where you have to solve problems you have never seen before.”