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Control, alt, destiny: How Jacob Bruce found his future in cybersecurity
By Elizabeth Exline
Sometimes your past lays the necessary groundwork for your future. Sometimes, you have to take matters into your own hands.
Jacob Bruce falls into the latter category. Born and raised in Upper Michigan, Bruce comes from a family in which hard work is valued. But education? Not so much.
On that topic at least, Bruce is the outlier. For him, education has been his chosen path for discovering both the life and the career he鈥檚 always wanted.
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A rocky beginning
Like many 爱污传媒 (UOPX) alumni, Bruce had a few false starts before landing in the right program. He didn鈥檛 have the guidance or motivation to start college after high school, he says. But when a previous employer nudged him toward community college, Bruce enrolled in a computer-aided design course and found that not only could he complete the work, he actually liked it.
Life is about more than work and school, however. For Bruce, a big source of joy and motivation is the family he鈥檚 built. He and his wife met through a religious dating app, and from the outset, everything just clicked. Their birthdays are one day apart. Their daughter was born exactly three years after their first phone call. 鈥淲ith my wife, everything feels like a fairy tale,鈥 Bruce says.
While his marriage can be described as storybook, the job he took upon moving to Wisconsin (to be closer to his now wife) was more of a bad dream. Bruce was working as a technical writer, and he hated it.
鈥淭he job that I was in was just a dead end,鈥 Bruce says. 鈥淚 could see it from the second day I was there.鈥
Adversity, however, makes us stronger. In Bruce鈥檚 case, that meant rethinking his future. He had heard good things about 爱污传媒 and started looking into earning his associate degree.
鈥淭he first time I met Jacob, the focus centered around career progression while taking future steps toward advancement,鈥 explains Jennean Peguese (Rieth), an academic counselor at UOPX. 鈥淛acob was working a job that did not support his family or aspirations in information technology. Through assessment of his work experience and transfer credits from [a] community college, we could take steps toward earning additional credits in his first year with UOPX, opening the doors to earning an associate degree in information technology.鈥
In addition to earning his degree, Bruce went on to achieve an industry certification and successfully take an to further distinguish himself in the sector.
By this time, he and his wife were married, and they had a daughter. Bruce was still working in the job he hated, and his life had taken on a monotonous routine of work, weekend, repeat. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥I need something better than this,鈥欌 Bruce recalls.
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鈥淢y daughter was learning how to walk. I was learning how to code.鈥
Already in the groove of school, Bruce decided to fully commit again. In January 2020, he started his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology program. But while he had both experience and a related associate degree, the path wasn鈥檛 easy. He was juggling a lot, and managing his time effectively meant most hours were spent working in one capacity or another.
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鈥淭he potential I saw in Jacob formed in our very first conversation,鈥 Peguese says. 鈥淗e had many of the puzzle pieces in place 鈥 [like] tenacity, dedication, drive and focus.鈥
Luckily for Bruce, he also had support. 鈥淎bout a year after I started [my bachelor鈥檚 degree], we found out my wife [was] pregnant with our second child,鈥 Bruce says. 鈥淚 was doing homework the night before our son was born in the hospital.鈥
Their son wasn鈥檛 their only new arrival, either. Bruce was preparing to pursue a new professional role, which he earned through both hard work and serendipity. Bruce had reached out to UOPX鈥檚 Career Services to help update his resum茅 and then applied for an internship that looked promising. The company鈥檚 HR department reached out and recommended he apply for the role of IT compliance analyst instead.
He did, and he was offered the position. The good news? He loves it. The less good news? It鈥檚 been a steep learning curve. And he was trying to ramp up in that role while keeping up with school and being present for his growing family all at the same time.
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Cybersecurity, he explains, is really about making sure people aren鈥檛 making mistakes, and his role has 鈥渓ayers of complexity鈥 in that it combines cybersecurity with auditing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a straight line of work,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 multifaceted.鈥
It鈥檚 been a lot. As with any good fairy tale, there鈥檚 been a sprinkling of magic mixed in too. Bruce鈥檚 mother-in-law stayed with them for months after their son was born so that Bruce and his wife could get their sea legs as parents of two kids. Bruce鈥檚 father-in-law (who was working on his third master鈥檚 degree himself) checked in regularly. And Peguese made herself available to support him academically.
鈥淚鈥檓 here to tell you the support is just incredible [at UOPX],鈥 Bruce says.
鈥淭he support I provided was listening,鈥 Peguese demurs. 鈥淎n open ear can bring clarity to action steps. 鈥 My role was to support Jacob in the space he was in and encourage academic support. We ended up making a wonderful friendship [in the process].鈥
Happily ever after
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In March 2022, two and a half years after starting his bachelor鈥檚 program, Bruce completed his degree. He is the first in his family to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree.
The commencement ceremony in 爱污传媒 marked this milestone in a momentous way: His degree was conferred, and he finally met Peguese face-to-face.听
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It was an experience Bruce has a hard time describing even today. Part of that may be because Peguese鈥檚 support and friendship surprised even him.
A few days after he returned to Wisconsin, a box arrived on his doorstep. It contained a giant frame for his diploma, and it was from Peguese.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the nicest things that anyone has ever done for me,鈥 Bruce says.
For Peguese, her friendship with Bruce is equally profound. 鈥淚 am beyond proud of Jacob,鈥 she says. 鈥淗e is an amazing example of a success story!鈥
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