I’m excited to share that I have officially passed Stage 0 (Foundations) of the Ubuntu Bridge Initiative Cybersecurity Internship with a final score of 81/100.
To be honest, I wasn't sure how I was going to get through it.
At the same time I was working on this cybersecurity capstone, I was also preparing for my 100-level second-semester university examinations.
Balancing engineering exams with a practical security investigation was challenging, and the workload felt overwhelming.
Still, I committed to the process because I know where I want to go.
During Stage 0, I developed hands-on skills in:
• Forensic log analysis: investigating authentication logs and identifying suspicious activity.
• Alert triage and incident review: understanding how critical threats can be overlooked when alerts are treated in isolation.
• Executive communication: translating technical findings into business risks that decision-makers can understand.
• Security ethics: applying the ISC2 Code of Ethics when operational pressure conflicts with security responsibilities.
One of my favorite parts of the capstone was decoding hidden payloads and tracing the actions of a threat actor called "The Griot" through a simulated incident investigation.
It was the first time I felt like I was thinking and working like a SOC analyst rather than just studying cybersecurity concepts.
A huge thank you to the Ubuntu Bridge Initiative (The Root Access Network (T.R.A.N) team, especially Somto Okoma and Quadri Omoloju, for creating a practical learning experience that challenges participants to think critically from day one.
Stage 1 (Applied Cryptography) begins on Monday.
My university exams are still ongoing, but the journey continues.
One step closer.