I began my education as an accounting major at the University of Rhode Island in 2013. During the summer semester of my freshman year, I took my first Digital Forensics introduction class which opened a whole new world of interests for me. Before I even completed the course, I knew I wanted to take more Digital Forensics and Cyber Security classes and explore what opportunities they have to offer. After continuing to take additional courses, I realized accounting wasn’t the right path for me and I spoke to the Digital Forensics chairperson about switching my major to computer science and going down a more technology-based career. The department became my new focus in more ways than one.

The next summer I worked in the DFCSC lab researching Windows 10 artifacts and the changes that were coming with this new operating system. This research solidified my decision to pursue Digital Forensics as my career and I knew this is the field I want to be in. That fall, I became a TA for the Digital Forensics department at URI and worked closely with all members of the team. A small interest in Digital Forensics ended up shifting my entire focus and soon after I began an internship at Forensic Risk Alliance (FRA) based out of Providence, Rhode Island. All three of these opportunities derived from the digital forensics department and greatly expanded my knowledge and experience in the field before I even graduated. These set me apart from other graduates with a concentration in digital forensics as I had hands-on research and work experience in the field.

Soon after obtaining my computer science degree with a dual minor in digital forensics and cyber security, I continued at FRA as a full-time Digital Forensics Analyst and still currently work there. During my time at FRA, I’ve performed numerous data collections of servers, user computers and mobile devices. I’ve conducted these all over the world including Sydney, Australia; Vancouver, Canada; Paris, France; London, England and in numerous locations throughout the United States. I’ve also conducted forensic analysis on various data sources including Window machines, email servers, VMware datastores, Skype databases and many others. When performing forensic analysis, I still find myself going through the lecture notes from my digital forensic classes I took at URI and there’s not a day that goes by that I regret changing my major and pursuing a career in digital forensics.