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Network Security Solutions Architect, Ericsson

Even for those who go directly from commencement to a master鈥檚 degree program, there鈥檚 usually an opportunity for at least a few weeks of R&R.听

Taylor Hartley had 48 hours.听

Following her service with the U.S. Navy, Taylor was living with her partner in Japan and finishing her undergraduate degree from 麻豆免费版下载Denver when the pandemic brought life to a standstill. Unsure of what to do next, she followed the advice of her academic advisor.听

鈥淗e said, 鈥楪et your semester done over the summer, you鈥檒l graduate summa cum laude, you鈥檒l get in anywhere you want,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淎nd so, I crammed in a whole fall semester over the 听summer, had my last final on a Saturday, flew from Japan to Florida and that Monday, started the MBA.鈥澨�

Taylor credits her military service for helping her make it happen.听

鈥淎daptability and flexibility are two things the military definitely emphasizes,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I learned to roll with the punches.鈥澨�

In another sense, she鈥檚 been rolling with the punches her whole life. Taylor had a modest childhood, growing up in a broken home in Alabama; she left high school at 16 to work full time and better support herself.听

鈥淚 was working as a waitress, and I just didn鈥檛 see a way out,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I started going to recruiters鈥� offices.鈥澨�

Taylor served in the Navy until the fall of 2018, rising to the rank of petty officer second class, as a cryptological technical collector (CTR). In that role, she did airborne reconnaissance, penetrating networks to gather intelligence. Now, she鈥檚 on the other side of the keyboard, helping keep 5G communications secure at Ericsson. 听

鈥淚 have the bad-guy perspective, I know what it鈥檚 like to be on the other side, so I know what to look out for,鈥� she said.听

Her naval service also brought her to Colorado for the first time. She did her first tour here, and would occasionally visit Boulder to hang out with people her age.听

鈥淚 had so much responsibility, and all the other kids my age were in college, living this normal college life,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 would hang out with them, I went to a few parties, and it felt like an alternate universe鈥攍ike, this is what a normal life might have looked like.听

鈥淎nd, then, 10 years later, I finally got to do it.鈥澨�

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