About
Cybersecurity student, homelab builder, and full-time worker — most of what's on this site got built in whatever hours were left over after work and classes.
Education
| Degree | BS in Cybersecurity, minor in Education |
| School | Texas A&M University–San Antonio (TAMUSA) |
| Expected graduation | Spring 2027 |
Relevant coursework: Database Security, Hardware Security, Scripting Languages, Security Tools I & II, Web Application Programming for Security, Cybersecurity Programming I & II (Python), Database Design, Information Security, Computer Networks, Penetration Testing, Secure Software Engineering.
Certifications
| CompTIA Network+ (N10-009) | Certified — Aug 23, 2026 |
| CompTIA Security+ | In progress — targeting before graduation |
Technical skills
| Networking | TCP/IP, VLANs, subnetting, switching fundamentals, DNS |
| Security | Firewalls, VPNs, IDS/IPS (Suricata), fail2ban, web application security (XSS, SQL injection, input validation, security headers, rate limiting), penetration testing, vulnerability assessment |
| Tools | Proxmox, OPNsense, Kali Linux, Metasploit, Wireshark, Autopsy, WireGuard, Nessus, Splunk, Grafana |
| Web / backend | Flask, Nginx, Gunicorn, Cloudflare, MySQL |
| Systems | Linux (Ubuntu — CLI basics), Windows |
| Programming / scripting | Python, SQL, HTML, JavaScript, PHP, PowerShell |
Experience
Assistant Manager — Watershed Car Wash
- Led daily operations and supervised team performance in a fast-paced environment
- Created and managed employee schedules to ensure efficient coverage
- Trained and supported team members, promoting growth and teamwork
- Handled customer service issues to ensure satisfaction and resolve concerns
- Managed inventory and ordered supplies to maintain operations
- Performed routine and as-needed maintenance to ensure equipment functionality
- Counted and reconciled cash drawers and prepared bank deposits each shift
- Tracked and recorded end-of-month operational data and reports
Full-time student and full-time employee at the same time — the homelab, drippinpools.com, and everything else on this site got built around that schedule, not instead of it.
How I got here
My interest in tech started with building and customizing gaming PCs — figuring out why something didn't boot, or how to actually get parts working together, taught me more than any manual did. That same project-first instinct is why I build things outside of coursework instead of just doing the assigned labs: a homelab that's actually mine to break and fix, a real website for a real client, a real security audit with real findings.
I learn best by building something real and finding out what breaks — not by reading about it first. Every project on this site started as "let me just try it" and turned into a genuine system I now maintain, monitor, and keep hardening. That's also why the write-ups here focus on what actually went wrong and how I figured it out, rather than just listing what I installed — the troubleshooting is usually the part worth reading.