Brandon Grech

Personally, I did not want prospective cybersecurity students to have to choose between a Christ-centered education experience and a high-quality, hands-on, current cybersecurity program. Here at AU, I am able to enable students to have both!

Besides cybersecurity-related activities (reading, research, competitions, etc.), I enjoy playing sports with my family, exploring the US, and DIY projects.

Spending time in the Cybersecurity Lab to continuously develop engaging, hands-on, and active learning opportunities for our cybersecurity students. Enabling our students to learn this incredible cybersecurity field with hands-on experience and understanding not only the theory but also be able to apply their knowledge technically will never get old for me. These hands-on experiences include creating cybersecurity programs with python, enumerating networks, hardening and securing networks, gathering open-source intelligence, performing forensics on digital media, implementing strong and breaking vulnerable cryptography, hacking (pen testing) machines, and so much more. What is there not to enjoy here?!

The opportunities for cybersecurity professionals in the workforce are seemingly endless. The need for technical and/or non-technical cybersecurity professionals continue to grow. There are more positions open than qualified professionals to fill them. Currently, there is a 0% unemployment rate in our field! My colleagues in the cybersecurity industry are having great careers and job satisfaction. I hope prospective students know of the incredible cybersecurity opportunities available to them!

My classes are extremely hands-on, current (no legacy Operating Systems, exploits, or vulnerabilities), engaging, and applicable for the workforce. All of the students learn together via collaboration, research, hands-on exercises, and incredible discussion.