Kyle Rosa - Honors Portfolio
During my first year as an honors student at UC Blue Ash, I set the foundation for my future as an honors student and began diving into my studies in the field of Information Technology. My first major step was to take the Gateway to Honors course, which laid the framework for both of my honors experiences and helped me build my confidence as a student. After taking this course, I had no doubts that I wanted to continue pursuing my education as an honors student and was thrilled for my future at UCBA. I did not complete either of my honors experiences this year, so I had extra time to really dive into my studies. I had an amazing time in my Introductory IT classes this year, reassuring me that this is the field I wanted to go into. My Computer Programming and Web Development classes were especially interesting as I learned about programming languages that I was not familiar with before college. I also built some great relationships with my professors during this time, relationships that would prove very beneficial as I continued my education in my sophomore year. I was honored to be the recipient of multiple scholarships this year, which helped support me during my first year in college. My proudest achievement this year was making it on the Dean’s List both semesters! I also got accepted into the UC Vocaholics, the premier a Capella group on campus, which gave me a great avenue for building friendships with my peers!
My second year in the honors program at UC Blue Ash saw me expanding my education in many ways. I took classes that were more focused on operating systems and databases, which are both very fundamental for a future career in Information Technology. As I furthered my knowledge in IT, I became increasingly interested in pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity. I ended up applying to transition to CECH to pursue that degree, and I was accepted! I also completed both of my honors experiences during my second year, my internship with GMi in the fall, and the Honors English class in the spring. I found myself especially busy during this time as I was involved as the Treasurer of the UC Vocaholics, as well as joining the club ultimate frisbee team. Although I found myself constantly going back in forth between my different commitments, I was still able to find time for my studies and managed to make it onto the Dean’s List both semesters once again. I worked very hard on all my classes and was dedicated to maintaining outstanding grades even though I was busy. I was immensely honored to be nominated for Honors Student of the Year, which I was a finalist for! I cannot wait to continue my education at CECH and earn my bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity!
Although I did not complete any honors experiences during the 2024-2025 school year, I was still involved in many opportunities that advanced both my education and career. My classes were very specialized this year, as I have completed all my required general education classes at this point. This meant that I was exposed to many new ideas and concepts related directly to my major, which was very exciting. I took Fundamentals of Digital Media, Human Computer Interaction, and System Analysis & Design, all of which expanded my knowledge of designing systems, processes, and even business presentations, which will prove to be very useful skills as I enter my first job post-graduation. Classes like Network Infrastructure Management, Information Security & Assurance, Network Security, and Cybersecurity Policy greatly improved my knowledge of cybersecurity principles, which are essential for the field. I feel much more confident in my ability to understand the networking structure of a business and how it can stay secure thanks to the projects I worked on in those classes. In the Fall Semester of 2024, I decided to take a Piano Elective class, which helped me improve my skills in playing the piano, an instrument I have been working on for a couple years now. I am very thankful that I was able to fit that class into my schedule, as I was able to get set up with private lessons at CCM as a result. I have also decided to pursue a dual-degree in Application Software Development this year, instead of my previous double-major track. In addition to my coursework, I once again served as the Treasurer for the UC Vocaholics a Cappella group this year. Being involved in this group has been one of my favorite parts of college, and I could not imagine my experience so far without it. It has gifted me with amazing friendships as well as exciting opportunities to perform and use my love of singing for something meaningful in my community. This year, we won our ICCA quarter-finals competition, which is a national a Capella competition hosted each year, something our group has not done in five years. We also placed fourth at the semi-finals, which is the best placement our group has ever made. Accomplishing this has made me so proud of what the group has become even since I joined, and I am very excited to be serving on the exec team for 2025-2026 year as well!
My fourth year at the University of Cincinnati was full of exciting opportunities and accomplishments! I had another amazing year with my a cappella group, the UC Vocaholics, and we had a very successful year as a group as well. We placed fourth place at the ICCA (our annual competition) for the second year in a row, which is an amazing accomplishment to have played a part in achieving! I had the great privilege of singing a solo for our competition set, a video of which has been posted on our groups YouTube channel! I also rounded out my final year of serving on the executive board of the UC Vocaholics as the treasurer this year, which has continued to be a wonderful and fulfilling experience! I am thrilled to be involved in the group again next year, although I will no longer be serving as Treasurer.
In the fall, I completed my second co-op experience, returning to Cintas as a part of their Sales Systems & Applications team within their IT department. This co-op was a fantastic experience and increased my technical and professional expertise in countless ways. I had the opportunity to be a part of many important projects, all of which sought to support and enhance the experience of the sales representatives at Cintas, who serve as the backbone of the entire company. I worked on the same team that I worked with over the summer (my first co-op), a group of amazing people who I grew to enjoy working with more as the year progressed. My manager did an amazing job of making me feel included in important projects and meetings without overwhelming me with work, which I greatly appreciated. Overall, I had an amazing time working with Cintas last fall, and am ecstatic for the future opportunities that await with me them!
Over the spring I returned to regular coursework and ended up completing all my required courses for my cybersecurity degree! Next, I will be moving on to completing the courses required for my second degree, which will be in software application development. I took one very notable course this semester, special topics in cybersecurity, which altered the way I viewed the field I hope to work in someday, and caused me to consider the ethical implications of the work I will one day find myself completing. I strongly enjoyed the way in which the professor structured the course, giving the students ample opportunities to discuss what we were learning with each other in addition to our coursework. As a part of our final project, we each picked an upcoming topic or dilemma within the cybersecurity industry and researched it thoroughly. My chosen topic, drone flight functionality and forensics, greatly expanded my knowledge of a piece of technology I had always been fascinated by, and will relate strongly to my senior capstone project. I cannot wait to see what my final year in college has in store for me!
