Year: Fourth
Major: Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations
Involvement: Vice president of Black Student Union, orientation leader, member of Brandywine Music Association (BMA)
Brandywine: Why did you choose to attend Penn State Brandywine?
Bockarie: My brother went here. And I've always been an introverted type of person, so the idea of going to a bigger campus was a little nerve-wracking. At first, I wanted to go to University Park because I thought it would allow me to get out of my shell. But then, I realized just how good a community Brandywine itself is and I started to get involved with the different clubs and met so many people on campus. I figured I could stay here and still have my introverted personality, but at the same time, the people on campus and my friends that I've made help me get out of my shell.
Brandywine: How did you choose your major?
Bockarie: I started off as a mechanical engineering major, and then I realized it really wasn't for me, but I still wanted to major in something related to STEM. I switched my major to information sciences and technology (IST) at first. Then eventually I had a professor, Dr. (Andy) Landmesser (assistant teaching professor of IST), who influenced me into cybersecurity. He showed me how interesting cybersecurity is as a field. I ended up switching my major again to cybersecurity analytics and operations because it really intrigued me. I have fun with it. It's difficult, but it's not like it's something that I'm going to ever get sick of, so I just stuck with it.
Brandywine: What challenges have you faced at Brandywine?
Bockarie: Adapting to school after the pandemic was the hardest part of college for me. Academically speaking, when the pandemic hit, it threw me off because I was so used to my old routine and schedule, and everything changed so fast. Out of nowhere, we all had to learn in our homes for almost two years straight, and my communications skills pretty much plummeted. Coming back to campus was difficult because I had to learn how to communicate with my peers again. I hadn’t had to talk to anyone outside of my family face-to-face in almost two years, and I had to immediately learn how to communicate and network. Those two years were difficult because I lost some of my interpersonal skills and my social skills. Coming back to school in person made me have to build that up again from scratch.
Brandywine: Who has supported you here at Brandywine and how?
Bockarie: A lot of the support I get comes from my friends. Also, a lot of my professors have been supportive of me, like Dr. Landmesser, Assistant Professor of IST Alison Murphy, Associate Professor of IST Martin Yeh. Mainly the IST and cybersecurity departments are my biggest supporters academically. But my main support comes from my friends and family, specifically.
Brandywine: What made you interested in becoming an orientation leader? What do you enjoy most about it?
Bockarie: I don't have such an in-depth memory of what happened with my orientation, so I figured that I get to experience orientation from a different point of view than before. I wanted to be that person first-year students could talk to when they first came to Brandywine and provide them with advice. I really enjoy that although they’re first-year students, we’re so close in age, so I can give someone a few years younger than me the same advice I wish I had gotten at their age.
I also really enjoy that I get to meet so many people, and some of the students I come across have an introverted personality like me. In that sense, I have the opportunity to allow students to break out of their shells early on to prevent them from facing any hurdles. It’s like giving someone that foundation ahead of time in a way that I wish someone had done for me.