{"id":14680,"date":"2022-12-06T13:43:06","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T18:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/?p=14680"},"modified":"2022-12-06T14:04:11","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T19:04:11","slug":"ncc-alumnus-excels-in-cybersecurity-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/2022\/12\/ncc-alumnus-excels-in-cybersecurity-career\/","title":{"rendered":"NCC Alumnus Excels in Cybersecurity Career"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Brad

Brad Proctor<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cNash Community College gave me the foundation I needed to jumpstart my career, and I reflect on many things I have learned to this day,\u201d Brad Proctor said.<\/p>\n

Proctor is a Nash County native living in Huntsville, AL, leading a team of cybersecurity consultants for Department of Defense contractors. In his role, he helps the contractors navigate complicated cybersecurity regulatory requirements necessary to secure the defense industrial base.<\/p>\n

Brad Proctor attended Northern Nash High School. During his senior year, he enrolled in an electrical engineering class at NCC. \u201cThe convenient location, variety of classes offered, low cost and available campus resources made the community college a natural first choice,\u201d he said. \u201cI fell in love with the campus and the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proctor is a senior cybersecurity consultant with MADSecurity, a company that safeguards client business operations through strategic security services and technology solutions. His cyber risk and compliance team performs compliance gap assessments and risk mediation and cyber security consulting for Department of Defense contractors.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom an early age, I wanted to be a meteorologist,\u201d he said. \u201cBut taking IT-related classes in high school changed my career trajectory. Between the early vocational opportunities offered in high school and the option to take classes at NCC, my decision to pursue the technology field was set.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Nash, Proctor received the GlaxoSmithKline scholarship. He took classes on circuitry, fabrication, microprocessing, linear applications, electronics, local area networking, physics, robotics, data communication, visual basic programming and more. \u201cI even met my wife at NCC,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy electrical engineering at NCC was probably my most memorable class. Not only did the instructor teach the course material, but I also learned life lessons related to empathy towards those using the technology that IT supports. My instructor stressed that while technology is fun, people must come first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proctor graduated with an associate degree in Computer Engineering and began his career in 2005 at the Rocky Mount Telegram as an information systems manager. He later worked for the Telegram\u2019s parent company, Cox North Carolina Publications, as a junior technician and analyst. Proctor\u2019s resume also includes roles as Director of Social Marketing, IT manager and Vice President.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity colleges offer a great way to begin your college career. Or, for those like me who focus on taking the knowledge gained and entering the field right away, community colleges are an affordable way to do just that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Proctor says that in the field of IT security one never stops learning. \u201cI consider myself a lifelong learner and someone who pursues new interests.\u201d This was evident when he decided to transition his 18-year IT career to focus specifically on cyber security. The change in direction required his successful completion of\u00a0industry certifications including<\/span>\u00a0CMMC-AB RP, CySA+, Security+, Network+, A+, Project+ and ITIL Foundations before\u00a0attaining<\/span>\u00a0the CISSP, which is considered to be the gold standard of cybersecurity certifications. Proctor is also an Apple Certified Support Professional, Apple Certified Macintosh Technician and Apple Certified iOS Technician.\u201cMy motivation to keep moving forward is my desire to help others by sharing knowledge,\u201d he said. \u201cI live by the idea that knowledge is useless if not shared.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no shortcuts in this field,\u201d he said. \u201cWhile degrees and certifications are necessary, the willingness to learn new things, admit what you don\u2019t know and learn from mistakes is crucial.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a great experience at NCC. From interactions with employees, to the classes offered, I felt like my advisor and professors truly cared about my success. I was not just a number to them but seen as a student pursuing a career.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about NCC\u2019s IT program offerings, visit\u00a0nashcc.edu<\/a>\u00a0or call 252-451-8299.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNash Community College gave me the foundation I needed to jumpstart my career, and I reflect on many things I have learned to this day,\u201d Brad Proctor said. Proctor is… Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":14681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14680"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14680"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14689,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14680\/revisions\/14689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}