Edward Granlund

Travel enthusiast, Edward Granlund, will never turn down the opportunity to go on a trip. He doesn’t ever get tired of flying and loves exploring the natural beauty of the world, trying new food, spontaneous adventures and sharing the experience with friends and family.

When he’s not on the road, Granlund resides in Westminster, Maryland where he discovered his passion for martial arts. While learning from each experience, he earned a Black Belt, at Global Hap Ki Do. The Black Belt Certificate was signed and certified by Master Joe Borucki, and National Grand Master West. Mastering this art has continuously helped Granlund push past many obstacles in life. It has also contributed to the problem-solving skills necessary to further his career in CyberSecurity.

Currently, Granlund is earning a degree in CyberSecurity at Carroll Community College. His goal is to work with an Information Security team to protect organizations from internal and external attacks to better safeguard their sensitive data and critical infrastructure. He also hopes to explore more of the world in the upcoming years.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

Right now, there isn’t a lot going on until I start my job and my summer classes. I try to keep busy taking care of things around the house such as chores and organization. When I am not doing that, I am going to the gym and enjoying my time off. When my classes start up, however, it’s a lot more productive with that including the club I’m in!

What’s one trend in cybersecurity that really excites you?

If I have to pick one particular aspect of cybersecurity that excites me, it would have to be split between how a general network is set up physically and virtually.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as a student?

One habit of mine that makes me productive as a student is two-fold:
1. Envisioning my success moving towards a 4-year college for my bachelor’s degree.
2. Mentally reminding staying on top of my project and meeting the deadlines.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I think the best advice I could give my younger self would have to be to always think before doing or saying anything.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Actually, it has never come to pass where something proven true by fact has been disagreed upon when I bring it up.

As a cybersecurity student, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I constantly ask questions for the more “specific” aspects of whatever subject is being discussed at the moment.

What is one strategy that has helped you thrive in school?

In college specifically, one strategy for me is to be more social and be confident no matter what.

What is one failure you had as a student, and how did you overcome it?

One failure I had as a student was when I was first starting out in the cyber program with my Intro to Object-Oriented Programming. Well, rather, a failure of understanding since I was a fish out of the water. Eventually, I applied myself and begun to understand the material presented to me; ultimately leading to my success in my courses.

What is the best $100 you have ever spent? What and why?

Recently, the best $100 spent was during my trip to New York last month. A bunch of my fellow students and I signed up for the trip to de-stress from our course load last semester. I spent the $100 on a nice meal I bought in the city.

What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?

I mostly use Microsoft Word and PowerPoint as those two are the most prominently used in my courses lately, and for a good reason, since they are extremely reliable for putting together long essays or presentations.