{"id":1927,"date":"2017-08-08T12:30:52","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T12:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1927"},"modified":"2017-08-08T17:11:50","modified_gmt":"2017-08-08T17:11:50","slug":"detention-training-officer-follows-technology-curiosity-to-pursue-tstc-degree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1927","title":{"rendered":"Detention Training Officer Follows Technology Curiosity to Pursue TSTC Degree"},"content":{"rendered":"

(RED OAK) \u2013 April Smith of Wylie credits actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie for inspiring her to study cyber security.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith said as a teenager she watched \u201cHackers,\u201d a 1995 movie starring Jolie in which the main characters create a technological virus and hack into computer systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI chose cyber security because I have always been intrigued by the ability of technology,\u201d said Smith, 36. \u201cI was in awe of the movie. Computers, video games and art are all of my passions and technology rolls them all into one.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith took her passion and used it to work toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in Cyber Security at Texas State Technical College in North Texas in Red Oak. She is a candidate to receive the degree at TSTC\u2019s Summer 2017 Commencement on Aug. 18 in Waco.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn some of my classes I was the only female, but that didn\u2019t prevent the camaraderie of us pulling together and learning,\u201d Smith said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s academic work also earned her the Provost\u2019s Award.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was blown away and felt so much gratitude,\u201d she said. \u201cI was floored really and so happy that I could share the surprise with my family, who have supported me throughout it all. My hard work and dedication paid off and I am still in the clouds about it all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

TSTC Provost Marcus Balch said he selected Smith because she attended classes and works at the Dallas County Sheriff\u2019s Department as a detention training officer. She has been at the sheriff\u2019s department for a decade.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHer job doesn\u2019t provide a lot of flexibility, yet she has overcome the odds,\u201d Balch said. \u201cShe also has a positive outlook and is excited about the possibilities that the future holds for her. She is just a good solid example of a hard-working TSTC student.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides her work schedule and balancing her study and family time, Smith said her other challenges involved her parents each dealing with a cancer diagnosis.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was difficult not knowing the outcome of their situations while attending classes,\u201d she said. \u201cThankfully, they were stronger than the disease and are here with me now to celebrate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith recommended that females interested in technology pursue cyber security.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAllow your dreams to become reality and make a mark on the world,\u201d she said. \u201cExplore all possibilities and interests. Everyone has something to offer, and that one thing may change everything about technology.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith grew up in Wilmot, Arkansas, and graduated in 1999 from Hamburg High School in Hamburg, Arkansas.<\/span><\/p>\n

She was in the United States Air Force and was stationed in Mississippi and Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith plans to study information technology after graduating from TSTC.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope my career in information technology allows me to find a great company to work for so that I can grow as an individual and a colleague,\u201d she said. <\/span><\/p>\n

TSTC\u2019s Summer 2017 Commencement will include graduates from the North Texas, Waco and Williamson County campuses. The ceremony will be at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 18 at the Waco Convention Center at 100 Washington Ave.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information about TSTC\u2019s statewide commencement ceremonies, go to tstc.edu\/about\/graduation.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(RED OAK) \u2013 April Smith of Wylie credits actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie for inspiring her to study cyber security. Smith said as a teenager she watched \u201cHackers,\u201d a 1995 movie starring Jolie in which the main characters create a technological virus and hack into computer systems. \u201cI chose cyber security because I have always […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-northtexas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1927"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1929,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927\/revisions\/1929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}