Share the Dream: My Life, My Focus, My Goal Share the Dream: My Life, My Focus, My Goal: Myrthil, Kenry

Share the Dream essay by Kenry Myrthil

I live in a Haitian household with my younger brother and sister, my recently remarried mother, stepfather and my cousin. My siblings and I were born in the United States, while my parents and cousin were born and raised in Haiti, making ours primarily a Haitian-creole speaking household. Before My stepfather and cousin came into the picture, it was just my mother, my siblings, and me, jumping from house to house throughout Connecticut. Eventually, she was able to buy a house in New Bedford, MA in 2016.

Around seven years later, my cousin moved in with us through a “temporary” immigration program during President Biden’s term. At around the same time, my stepfather immigrated through the same program and met and married my mother earlier this year. This happened as I was completing the steps towards my admission to UMass Dartmouth. But what led me to choose UMass Dartmouth? After looking at a few colleges, I realized that I hadn’t yet known exactly what I wanted to major in. But I knew that I wanted it to be aligned with a passion of mine. Tech or music. To narrow my options, I made a few rules for myself. First, it had to be related to computer science, computer engineering or music.

Second, it had to offer a stable source of income working in that field after graduation. Since I wanted financial security, a music major was out of the question for me. I considered Computer engineering. That idea was also quickly dismissed with the rise of AI causing people in that field to get laid off at a high rate. It was too broad of a field to major in. I needed to specialize in something because specialists are always in demand.

I ended up choosing Cybersecurity, as it provides good job opportunities, and it is a subcategory of both computer science and computer engineering (CS & CpE). Studying cybersecurity will allow me to build a strong technical foundation, giving me the flexibility to branch into related fields in my own time or as a minor. Having knowledge across CS and CpE fields would give me a broader understanding and an advantage over my competitors in the job market. If I decided to stick with just cybersecurity, I doubt (for now) it would be much of a struggle to land job opportunities. The ability to apply this knowledge in personal real-world scenarios to protect myself and others when using technology serves as another benefit.

Once I figured out what I wanted to major in, I needed to find a college that offered cybersecurity, wasn’t too far from home, and had some campus life. UMass was among the first colleges I looked into and quickly became my #1 pick, followed by URI and BCC. The first reason was because they provide cybersecurity as a major, which would’ve been an instant dealbreaker otherwise. Another motivator was all the recommendations I got for UMASSD. I was told it was very culturally diverse and there was always something happening on campus. I also appreciated that unlike BCC, UMASSD has a great music program and many inviting ensembles. I’ll be able to continue my passion for music while preparing for my future career. The last thing about UMASSD that drew me in was the distance. The campus is 20 minutes away from home and even closer to where I work, Unlike many other colleges (URI). This makes commuting convenient while I work toward my degree.

After I graduate, I plan to apply what I learn from UMass to provide creative solutions to problems that compromise the privacy and security of businesses, organizations and Individuals. More specifically, I’d like to take my skills to universities, hospitals and local businesses. A more personal goal of mine is to share my knowledge with others to create more cyber literate individuals. Even the basics, like recognizing scams and understanding privacy settings can make a big difference in anyone’s personal safety.
As for my family, on top of making them cyber literate, my stable source of income would allow me to contribute much more financially. Taking some of that financial weight off their shoulders can allow them to move up and out of this cycle of constant debt and anxiety. They’ll be able to use energy otherwise used to stay afloat, towards things that will improve their quality of life instead.