'Do Anything You Set Your Mind To': 21-Year-Old Earns Master's in Cybersecurity

At 21 years old, Trinity Woodbury graduated with a master’s in cybersecurity from Old Dominion University. She is ready to take the next step in her career and education by pursuing her doctorate while teaching at the University and interning with the Navy.

Woodbury said she has the University and the Coastal Virginia Center for Cyber Innovation to thank “for the person I am today” and the opportunities she has to continue learning and inspiring others.

That drive to learn and take on more started at 15 years old, when she would watch online videos about computers and hacking to tune out whatever was going on around her. At that age, she still did not know what she wanted to do with her future.

She knew she liked computers and law, particularly enjoying the show “Criminal Minds” for how the two intersected, and it was not until a woman – who she wishes she could thank now – came to speak to her class about cybersecurity as a career. Woodbury’s friends talked through the presentation, but she was enthralled.

“I just remember it was like it was just me and her, as if she was just talking to me,” Woodbury said. “It was like a beautiful song because it was everything I wanted to do when I was older.”

From then on, she dove into her studies. She started taking college courses through Tidewater Community College while attending Kellam High School in Virginia Beach. By the time she earned her high school diploma, she was a sophomore in college and motivated to make the most of her experience at Old Dominion University.

She was able to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in cybercrime in two and a half years and dove into her graduate studies. Just about a year after, she had her master’s in cybersecurity.

Throughout her time at the University, Woodbury sought any opportunity she could to get work and research experience. She also needed scholarships to continue. That was when she found the Coastal Virginia Center for Cyber Innovation, or COVA CCI, which became a steppingstone for all kinds of opportunities.

“All of these scholarships and tools were very engaging and very uplifting because every single person at Old Dominion University and COVA CCI are very passionate and you can definitely feel that as someone who was a part of it,” Woodbury said.

She conducted research in how artificial intelligence is used in the military and the ethics of ransomware payments. Her current position is with the Navy as a software engineer. Woodbury has worked there for two years, and it is part of a scholarship she received to continue her studies at Capital Technology University in Maryland for her doctorate in offensive cybersecurity engineering.

“Trinity is a driven young woman, who not only takes advantage of opportunities, but she makes her own,” said John Costanzo, chief administrative officer of COVA CCI. “She has already accomplished a lot in a short period of time, including completing her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in three years, as well as starting to work on her Ph.D. in cybersecurity. Trinity is an ambassador for both Old Dominion University and COVA CCI. I have no doubt that she will go far in her career and will inspire other young women who may be hesitant to make cybersecurity a career.”

Cybersecurity is not always a young girl’s idea of a dream career. According to Women in Cybersecurity, a national organization dedicated to fostering a more inclusive and equitable industry, women comprise about a quarter of the cybersecurity workforce.

Her courses were male-dominated, but that never bothered Woodbury. The people around her were respectful, though she understood why it would be intimidating for women to pursue cybersecurity. She said she wanted to be someone women could look up to and inspire a love for the field.

“My advice would be to not be intimidated and to do anything you set your mind to,” Woodbury said. “That is something I did.”

As an adjunct professor in cybersecurity, Woodbury will get that chance. Starting this fall, she will teach several courses in the School of Cybersecurity, such as networking, programming and cybersecurity fundamentals. She will also be working on her doctorate remotely while continuing to work with the Navy.

“I definitely want to continue my education forever. I love learning,” Woodbury said. “I love soaking in as much information as I can in cybersecurity, and I would love to help anyone.”