A good day for me is when I’m working on something and I lose track of time - when I’m able to tackle challenges by solving a problem and discover other challenges that I can solve the next day.
Methzli’s exposure to technology started in high school with an invitation to join the Academy of Information Technology. She received a scholarship through the Center for Women in Information Technology during undergrad and her passion for technology took off. Methzli started at GDIT in policy work and moved into a Cyber Security Analyst role supporting GDIT’s internal network.
Keeping information safe. My team owns it.
I work in GDIT’s internal Security Operations Center. We make sure the information we have - for GDIT and our customers - is safe. Our team members are on the network, conducting their work and we’re here to make sure they aren’t reaching out to potentially malicious sites and that no one externally is trying to attack us.
I started in policy, doing continuous monitoring and making sure our policies matched our processes. I moved into an analyst role and now help monitor GDIT’s network. I’ve also had the chance to experience other groups. When a coworker went on maternity leave, I had the opportunity to do intel threat analysis because I expressed an interest.
Developing skills and sharing new ideas.
GDIT has supported my development with premier cybersecurity training and by sending me to industry conferences.
The first month I was at GDIT, I was able to attend the ShmooCon Conference. It’s smaller than the larger security conferences so not only did I gain technical knowledge, but I also had the opportunity to build great relationships with others GDIT attendees. Some of them have left the organization, but we still keep in touch. I really like that this is a field where everyone is always willing to help.
When I’ve attended training or conferences, I’ve been able to come back to work and offer new ideas in terms of what we can be looking for or what content we can add to the tools we use.
GDIT is open to our ideas. We’re encouraged to share the information we’ve learned with everyone and try new things.
The importance of relationships.
The cybersecurity field has a lot of turnover and I’m often asked why I’ve stayed at GDIT for six years. And it’s my coworkers - that’s why I’m still here. From participating in Tough Mudders together to the regular banter we have in the office, I’ve always had incredible support from them.