Success Stories

The SANS Technology Institute (SANS.edu) prepares some of the brightest minds in cybersecurity for lasting careers that make a meaningful difference. See why these students chose SANS.edu for their cybersecurity education and what they're up to now.
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SANS.edu Sentinels Wrap Up Outstanding 2023 National Cyber League Season

At the fall 2023 National Cyber League (NCL) competition, SANS.edu demonstrated its cybersecurity prowess, becoming the only college out of more than 500 participating colleges to earn Top 5 power rankings in both the Standard Student and Experienced Student brackets.

Quick Facts: SANS.edu Sentinels at 2023 NCL Competitions

  • #1 Power Ranking in Experienced bracket in spring 2023
  • #2 Power Ranking in the Experienced bracket in fall 2023
  • #1 Power Ranking among NSA Centers of Academic Excellence in fall 2023
  • #4 Power Ranking in the Standard bracket in fall 2023
  • #1 Team in the Experienced bracket in spring 2023
  • #2 Team in the Experienced bracket in fall 2023
  • #2 Team in the Standard bracket in fall 2023
  • 28% of the Top 100 individual players in the Experienced bracket in fall 2023 were SANS.edu Sentinels
Brian Davidson

Brian Davidson

Master of Science in Information Security Engineering

For his master’s degree research project, U.S. Marine veteran Brian Davidson created a first-of-its-kind human interface device firewall — a firewall between a keyboard and the computer — that is patent pending. Learn why Brian chose SANS.edu and how his education made him an increasingly valued asset to his employer.

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Shawna Turner

Master of Science in Information Security Engineering

Shawna Turner earned a master's from SANS.edu while working full time at Nike, so online course options and the ability to adjust her schedule to her life needs were critical to her success. Discover how this former theater tech transformed herself into a cybersecurity subject matter expert.

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Billy Wilson

Master of Science in Information Security Engineering

Flexibility and real-world hands-on experience were key when father of five Billy Wilson started looking at cybersecurity master's degree programs. See what he has to say about attending the SANS.edu master's program while working full time - and presenting a student project to the CISO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

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Jeremiah Hainly

Master of Science in Information Security Engineering

A natural introvert and self-described computer/gamer geek, Jeremiah Hainly knew that gaining up-to-the-minute cybersecurity knowledge could give him game-changing confidence. See why he chose SANS.edu and where the master's program took him.

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Melissa Bischoping

Master of Science in Information Security Engineering

Melissa Bischoping works alongside some of the most brilliant minds in cybersecurity as Director of Endpoint Security Research at Tanium. Learn about her career journey and why she chose to pursue a master’s degree at SANS.edu.

Jamy Casteel

Jamy Casteel

Master of Science in Information Security Engineering

Jamy Casteel chose the SANS.edu master’s degree program to enhance both hands-on technical skills and soft skills to gain a competitive advantage for his career. Learn more about how this penetration testing expert and Vice President of Offensive Security at Kroll is protecting his clients’ important data from his rural Oklahoma town.

Megan Roddie

Megan Roddie

Master of Science in Information Security Engineering

Megan Roddie’s presentation of her well received master’s degree research paper Automating Google Workspace Incident Response at the SANS DFIR Summit led to an invitation to join the authors of the popular SANS course FOR509: Enterprise Cloud Forensics and Incident Response as a co-author. Her work developing labs for the course gives students realistic, practical hands-on experiences that allow them to approach real-life incidents more effectively.

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Karim Lalji

Master of Science in Information Security Engineering

Karim Lalji, Senior Manager and North America Penetration Testing Lead for Accenture, considered other cybersecurity master's programs, but found them too theoretical. He chose SANS.edu because it was the "gold standard," but was still blown away by the depth of knowledge provided. Learn more about Karim's story.

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Richard “Rick” Halsell Jr.

Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity Engineering
Graduate Certificate in Cloud Security

Richard “Rick“ Halsell Jr. defended the Army against network breaches and today is Senior Security Program Manager at Microsoft. Learn about his career journey and see why this master's degree holder chose to pursue 2 graduate certificates at SANS.edu.

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Jeff Sass

Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity Engineering
Graduate Certificate in Penetration Testing & Ethical Hacking
Graduate Certificate in Incident Response

Video gaming was the start of what would lead to Jeff Sass's decades-long career at Adobe. Discover why he chose to pursue 3 graduate certificates at SANS.edu — and how the experience helped him win promotions first to manager, then director.

Jessica Stainer

Jessica Stainer

Graduate Certificate in Incident Response

Digital forensics examiner Jessica Stainer pursued a graduate certificate in Incident Response at SANS.edu to gain hands-on skills her theory-based master’s degree didn’t provide. Along the way, she found her online courses so interesting and engaging that they didn’t seem like school.

Christopher Haller

Christopher Haller

Graduate Certificate in Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking

Christopher Haller beat out more than 6,000 competitors to earn the #1 individual player ranking in the Spring 2022 National Cyber League competition. See why he chose to pursue a graduate certificate at SANS.edu — and learn about his career path from the US Navy to his current role as Director of Professional Services at Centripetal Networks.

James Childers

James Childers

Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity
Graduate Certificate in Incident Response
Graduate Certificate in Cyber Defense Operations

U.S. Army veteran James Childers filled out an application to the SANS Technology Institute the day he discovered the GI Bill would cover his SANS.edu tuition costs. Learn how the multiple certificates and GIAC certifications James earned at SANS.edu prepared him to become vice president of Cyber Detection and Response at City National Bank. “I am not exaggerating when I say SANS.edu changed my life.”

Lori Brumm

Lori Brumm

Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Cybersecurity

Lori Brumm says that working with Internet Storm Center director Dr. Johannes Ullrich was one of the most valuable parts of her internship as a bachelor’s student at SANS.edu. She chose to pursue her bachelor’s degree at SANS.edu to gain a strong competitive advantage in the job market — and because the online options gave this busy mother of three the flexibility she needed to succeed.

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Jesse LaGrew

Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Cybersecurity

Jesse LaGrew wanted a bachelor’s degree that would strengthen his cybersecurity skillset and advance his career. He chose SANS.edu because the program included 9 GIAC certifications and he knew that securing industry certifications was particularly important in an ever-changing profession.

Kaela Manger

Kaela Manger

Bachelor's Degree in Applied Cybersecurity

Kaela Manger’s love of technology and desire to make a positive contribution to the world attracted her to cybersecurity. She chose the bachelor’s degree program in Applied Cybersecurity at the SANS Technology Institute to gain skills that would enhance her value as an information security professional and to secure highly valued GIAC certifications. See how the SANS.edu Income Share Agreement made it possible for Kaela to pay no tuition until she was employed full time.

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Will Green

Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Cybersecurity

Will Green's talent for cybersecurity capture the flag (CTF) competitions earned him a place on the US Cyber Team. Learn how he prepares for CTFs and how he used the SANS.edu Income Share Agreement to earn a bachelor's degree in applied cybersecurity, paying no tuition until he was employed full time.

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Loveona Jones

Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity

Loveona Jones completed the SANS.edu Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity during her senior year at a different college. Learn how this Cyber FastTrack scholarship winner got her start in cybersecurity and won prestigious internships with the U.S. State Department and a Fortune 500 company.

Tin Nguyen

Tin Nguyen

Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity

Tin Nguyen’s professional journey has taken him from the United States Marines to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to the helm of a Vietnam-based cybersecurity company. Learn how this graduate of the Undergraduate Certificate program in Applied Cybersecurity led the response and recovery efforts for one of the greatest crypto hacks in history.

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Michelle Porter

Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity

Michelle Porter beat out more than 10,000 applicants to earn one of 20 spots in Deloitte's inaugural Cyber Career Accelerator Program. She credits her success to the SANS.edu cybersecurity certificate program, which she funded using the college's Income Share Agreement (ISA), saying she made a solid return on investment in "experience, industry connections, and earnings." Learn how this former music education major made the leap to cybersecurity.

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Cody Williams

Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity

Cody Williams completed the SANS.edu Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity in just under a year and landed his first cybersecurity job before completing the program. See why Cody thinks there's a place for everybody in cybersecurity, particularly for those who fear having a boring desk job.

Jake Danuser

Jake Danuser

Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity

Jake Danuser looked at 50 different schools before selecting SANS.edu for its stellar reputation, GIAC certifications, and positive return on investment. He used the college’s Income Share Agreement (ISA) to fund the program and, in his words, “made enough salary gains to pay for the program twice.”

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Yukyung Jung

Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity

It's not unusual to find students with master's degrees in the SANS.edu undergraduate certificate program. Take Yukyung Jung, who pursued the certificate because of it offered hands-on technical training he couldn't find anywhere else. Learn about his journey from South Korea to the U.S. Army to a cybersecurity career.

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Cathy Sowa

Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity

Cathy Sowa made a mid-career change to cybersecurity. Learn how this former middle school teacher and adjunct professor gained the skills and confidence to enter the cybersecurity field.

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Anthony Messina

Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity

Anthony Messina completed the SANS.edu Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity after earning a bachelor’s in information technology. Learn about his journey from the Marine Corps to a career as a security analyst — and discover why he recommends the security analyst career path to anyone who wants to be on the front line of cybersecurity.

Join us for a free online info session to learn more.

Meet the Paller Scholars

The first cohort Paller Cybersecurity Scholarship winners exemplify our mission to identify exceptionally talented international students (non-US citizens) who are committed to making the world a safer place through cybersecurity. Each of this year’s Paller Scholars has been awarded a full scholarship to a SANS Technology Institute graduate program.

Our Grads Get Hired

Our alumni work for organizations large and small, including Fortune 500 companies, military and government organizations, and leading cybersecurity firms. Here are just a few.
Adobe
Discover Financial Services
Northrop Grumman
Akamai
Epic
OpenSecurity
Amazon
Expel
Oracle
Apple Inc
EY
PwC
Artic Wolf Networks
Facebook
Raytheon
Bank of America
FireEye
Red Canary
Blizzard Entertainment
IBM
Rendition Infosec
Boeing
Jigsaw Google
RSA
Booz Allen Hamilton
JHU/APL
SAIC
Capital One
JPMorgan Chase
Salesforce
Cisco
KBR
Sandia National Laboratories
Coalfire
Mantech
SixGen
Coretelligent
Mastercard
Symantec
CrowdStrike
Microsoft
Verizon
Deloitte
MITRE
Walmart
Dragos
NIST
Wells Fargo Bank
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Secure Your Future

The SANS Technology Institute offers career-focused master’s degree, graduate certificate, bachelor’s degree and undergraduate certificate programs on the cutting edge of cybersecurity.

Need more information? We’re happy to answer your questions. Join us for an info session, email info@sans.edu or call 301.241.7665.

Ready to apply? We look forward to learning about you and your cybersecurity career goals.