Hey! I’m @DanMolenhouse, a Master of Information Systems Management student at Carnegie Mellon University. While the core MISM program focuses on technical and leadership skills tailored for the tech industry, I have concentrated my degree on my true passion: cybersecurity. Atypical to most MISM students, I have taken electives like Ethical Penetration Testing, Data-focused Python, and Privacy in the Digital Age to expand my cybersecurity and privacy knowledge.
Studying at the #1 school in both Information and Technology Management and Cybersecurity was extremely important to me because my journey into the cybersecurity industry marks a complete diversion from the industry I previously studied and worked in. After three years working as a mechanical engineer, venturing into a completely different field was risky. I chose CMU because I craved an environment where I would be challenged, learn a lot quickly, and be surrounded by people with experiences and backgrounds completely different than my own that I could learn from.
As my time at CMU came to a close, it could be confidently said that the institution lives up to its reputation. As CMU students, our weekend nights are spent debugging stubborn programs, solving tough economics problems, and brainstorming ways we can provide value to our clients because this is what will make us successful after we leave. More important than the technical problems we solve, however, are the people we meet and grow close to during our time here. The times I will remember most fondly are the road trips to new cities with friends that grew up on the other side of the world; People that, given any other circumstance, I would likely never have grown close to. In this regard, CMU has prepared us not just to be able to handle the work we will do after we graduate, but empathize with the people we will likely work closely with.
After CMU, I hope to work with a team of experienced security professionals at a company where security is a priority that can help me further hone my technical skills and grow into a expert in the security field. I would like to continue my education by earning certifications like the CompTIA Security+ and Network+, which would hopefully be an endeavour that my future organization would support me in.
Outside of school and work, I am an avid hiker, traveler, and film photographer. My landscape and travel film photography has been curated to the front page of the popular photography app VSCO over 50 times, sold for charity in my photobook Desert Daydream, and won the FujiFilm Why I Shoot Film Contest in 2021 with the following image and caption:
Shooting film allows me to slow down and think about every individual photo I make. When I am limited to only ten shots per roll, there must be intention and thought behind every shot. My absolute favorite aspect of film photography is that the image can’t be reviewed until after it’s developed. This delayed gratification forces me to enjoy the scene in front of me, rather than focus only on getting the perfect image. Once I get to see the final results, there is warmth, color and character in a film image that is hard to duplicate digitally. As I travel and experience the breathtaking landscapes and many cultures that America has to offer, I want to document it in a way that invokes in the viewer the same emotions that I feel. Film photography is the best way to capture these moments.
The image submitted is a 30-minute exposure of the stars and mountains surrounding Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park made with Fujifilm Pro400H film.
Thank you for reading! Feel free to explore my Github and check out some of the projects I have worked on during my time at Carnegie Mellon.