Choosing the Purdue Polytechnic Institute created an amazing network of friends and peers that helped propel me to a successful career. The Polytechnic feels like a home away from home, and in this environment I have excelled.
Taylor Younkins
Cybersecurity '21
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Taylor Younkins

Cybersecurity '21
Security Engineer for Apple

What are your job duties?

Web development, software engineering, testing and debugging, and exploring gaps in the company’s security posture

Who would you like to thank as you finish your time at Purdue and start your career?

I would like to thank Toni Munguia (Ms. Toni) for being an amazing mentor. She helped connect me to scholarships, mentors, friends, and new experiences. She taught the Women in Technology 101 class my freshman year, and I learned valuable information in that class, such as creating my first college resume, researching companies that give their employees fair treatment, and networking.

What specific classes helped prepare you for your new job?

Vulnerability Analysis and Testing (CNIT 47100) has helped prepare me for my new job. It has given me a broad range of new technical skills pertaining to Cybersecurity that are completely applicable to my job as an incoming Information Security Engineer. Additionally, Systems Analysis And Design Methods (CNIT 28000) gave me lots of experience with working in a team to bring a project from start to finish, which I found to be very applicable to my past internships.

If you had a favorite class, project, experience, or professor, what/who was it, and why?

My favorite experience was studying abroad in Peru, during the Maymester of my freshman year. I went on a trip with 9 other CIT students and Professor Barlow, and together we took a class at TECSUP, and completed a programming project with their students over the course of 2 weeks. It was my first experience outside the country and I had an amazing experience, making the trip absolutely unforgettable.