Expect the Unexpected: Definitely did not Expect this!
AWSN Award: Best Student Security Leader Award
I’ve always fancied myself to be someone who is fairly well prepared for the unexpected.
Husband faints in a hospital from a sudden drop in blood sugar levels? I got him. Assess risks and potential impact; act accordingly.
Something happened at a client and I need to be on the next flight out of the country? Lets go!
Need to jump on a security incident on a Friday afternoon after being up till 5am helping another client fix a problem? Bring it!
I’ve become rather good at springing into action when things go wrong. It comes with the territory of working in an industry that’s been predominantly focused on responding.
My stunned mullet moments come when good things happen… like when my name got called at the AWSN Awards. My ability to spring into action dissipates, thank you speech? I’ll speak words and hope they make sense. Why didn’t I prepare one? Because I wasn’t expecting it. There were some amazing nominees and even more impressive finalists!
Then, the below email showed up in my work email inbox on Thursday.
Skye
Congratulations on being awarded the Best Student Security Leader at the Australian Women in Security Network Awards. This is an incredible achievement and you should be very proud.
As a member of our Discovery Team in our Threat Research and Intelligence group, we are very grateful for the key role you play in helping protect Telstra. You have also demonstrated true leadership in spending time supporting the cyber community, particularly student groups through university engagements and the Australian Women in Security Network (AWSN) cadet program.
Congratulations again, and all the best for your continuing success and brilliant future.
Kind regards
Andy
My thought process went a little bit like this….
* Ooooh, new phishing drill
* Wait… it doesn’t look like a phishing email…
* Wait… is that the CEO Andy’s actual email address?
* What do I do now?!?!?!?!?
Now that I’ve had a day or so to process the initial shock and awe; the only remaining feeling is gratitude.
Gratitude for the all the amazing people who made this all possible:
Jacqui for founding Australian Women in Security Network (AWSN), Aby for pulling together the AWSN Awards.
The young women who started the Cadets initiative and all our past and current committee members.
All our curious members who are hungry for knowledge and our coaches who generously give up their time to pass on their expertise.
My team, manager, boss from my day job who have empowered and encouraged me to give back to the community. The email from the CEO is really just icing on the cake.
The opportunity to work with the cadets has been inspirational to me. It has added a new meaning to the work I do in my day-to-day. Challenge the status quo, and support each other to make this a better community for all.
If you are a female identifying student or early career professional in the security industry based in Australia, check out and sign up to the AWSN Cadets initiative via the AWSN website: https://www.awsn.org.au/index.php/awsn-cadets/
If you’re an experienced industry professional, looking to share your knowledge and skills with some of the brightest minds. Check out the website and sign up as a Coach!