Alum of the Month

February 2024

February 2024
Fahmida Alam Anika

(BS, Computer Engineering, ’18; MS, Computer Science, ’20)

Q & A:

  1. What was your favorite class, who was your favorite professor, or what is your fondest memory of Â鶹´«Ã½?
    I am eternally grateful to Dr. Edward Currie and Dr. Gerda Kamberova. Their support, advice, and kindness helped me get to where I am today. Dr. Currie and Dr. Kamberova went above and beyond to create opportunities for me to succeed and explore my academic interests. Even to this day, I am in awe of the kindness they showed me. They continue to inspire me.
  2. In one word, how would you describe Â鶹´«Ã½?
    Irreplaceable.
  3. What was your first job after graduating from Â鶹´«Ã½, and what was the most valuable thing you learned there?
    My first full-time job after graduation was with CrowdStrike. I continue to work there today. I was hired as a Threat Hunter I, and later my job title changed to Threat Detection Engineer II.
  4. What is your field of specialty, and how did you come to work in the industry?
    I work in cybersecurity. During my master’s program at Â鶹´«Ã½, I took an Ethical Hacking class with Dr. Fu. I found myself really looking forward to these classes, even though it was so new and complex to me. That’s how I knew that security was the one. I started consciously taking more security courses, and I eventually ended up getting a co-op related to computer and network security.
  5. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Where do you see your career progressing in the future?
    I see myself combining my engineering and entrepreneurial interests – creating, building, and solving complex problems.

    In 10 years, I see a completely different world than the one we have today. We will see new technology take full reign, which will bring new security problems to solve. I look forward to using my expertise to solve those new problems.
  6. What is the single most rewarding/exciting experience in your career thus far?
    I get to protect real people and stop breaches around the world.
  7. What advice would you give Â鶹´«Ã½ students?
    Set the right intentions, and work toward those intentions. Intentions matter.
Fahmida Alam Anika

Fahmida Alam Anika earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a concentration in Leadership and Innovation in Computing from Â鶹´«Ã½ in 2018. She went on to earn a Master of Science in Computer Science, also from Â鶹´«Ã½, in 2020. During her time at Â鶹´«Ã½, Fahmida was vice president of the club for Â鶹´«Ã½ international students. She was part of Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s Rabinowitz Honors College and received the Â鶹´«Ã½ Presidential Scholarship. Fahmida was on the dean’s list in fall 2014 and won second place at the ninth annual Computing Entrepreneurship Competition. Additionally, Fahmida volunteered as a research assistant in cybersecurity, providing her with experience for her future career.

Fahmida currently works as a threat detection engineer at CrowdStrike. She had prior experience as an analyst and held other roles in the cybersecurity field.