Words from a WISP Scholar
As part of the Women in Security and Privacy (WISP) community, I felt compelled to write and provide insight on the profound effect WISP has had upon my life. Even more so, due to the fact that I was able to listen to an informative session, "Resiliency for cloud architecture" by an AWS Cloud Engineer, Parna Mehta. This session was part of the Women in Tech Global Conference 2025. Having been awarded a scholarship to attend this virtual conference, I was so excited to see someone I knew from an Amazon-sponsored program I am a part of in a conference which I was able to attend, due to the support of a WISP scholarship.
After the session, I felt inspired to share the excitement from attending this online conference and encourage everyone who seeks to dream of being in tech, in whatever capacity. My own experience revolves around highly regulated environments, and the thrill of such responsibility and the weight of this same responsibility makes being humble an every day tenet to practice.
Overall, from an introspective perspective, the session helped me to realise I am building my network, this is my life. This is what I want to live, breathe and do every day, every monment. I never knew that life could be so incredible and profound; not taking into account the hours upon hours that I pour into this life for certifications (this is fun for me) that make me feel alive and the countless projects I work on to gain greater understanding of what cloud services do. Whatever dream you have in the tech world, do it.
Which takes me back to when I first applied for a WISP schoarlship to attend Hacker Summer Camp 2024. I did not realize the magnitude of my actions, and even now, I am still in awe of having attended Hacker Summer Camp 2024. Starting off with The Diana Initiative, which was one of the more calm conferences where I gained a wealth of knowledge from by hanging out at the Career Village. Listening to the speakers, and participating in the mock interviews, having CIO's and global executives support and encourage me, made me feel like I might actually make my dream into something real.
Moving on to Black Hat 2024, I met people whom I had watched on YouTube videos, and had fun pretending to be hanging out with the greats. Yet, there I was. At BlackHat. Me. My first memory, is meeting Grifter. If you are not familiar with Grifter, he is a former Goon of DefCon and a legend in the hacker world and previously a part of the elite team of IBM's X-Force. This is what the board members, and volunteers of WISP work so hard for--to help people who would not otherwise be able to attend such incredible conferences like this and meet the superheroes like Grifter.
Another incredible moment was meeting Hacks4Pancakes, a superhero who works for an elite global offensive team--Dragos. Although I was not able to chat with her, as she was on her way to somewhere; I was simply excited to be able to meet her. Then, I went to a Key Note where the legends of the hacker community graced us with their presence and shared words of wisdom. Moxie Marlinspike and The Dark Tangent, founder of BlackHat and DefCon. Moxie is the creatour of Signal, the messaging application. Moxie had not spoken at BlackHat in 5 years, so I felt that this was yet another surprise which is shaping my life and guiding me on my own journey. The following day, still trying to digest that I had been in the presence of Moxie, I decided to attend the Lock Note, where The Dark Tanget and his review board shared insight on what it takes to have a presentation accepted by BlackHat.
After the Lock Note, I thought it would be fun to say hello to The Dark Tangent and I was waited in line to meet him. DT is the epitome of someone who has the child-like wonder that makes him who he is and yet humble enough to seem unaware of his own monumental success. After the conference, I am more conscious when I watch Blackhat videos that this humble dude who said hello to me is the same powerhouse who has met with foreign dignitaries from all over the world and I would imagine some important people from the US government.
I take a moment to digress and direct attention back to the importance of what WISP scholarships provide to its recipients--life-changing experiences. This is part of my journey, shaping and molding my dream; I am taking those experiences and building a body of knowledge to help me share with the world in a way I can call my own. By sharing a part of my journey, I hope to inspire or motivate others to work on their dreams, to believe. Take action. Build. That is when helping hands like WISP appear as a beacon, shining a light upon your dreams and welcoming you to apply to scholarships for conferences which interest you.
