Computing Student Logan Reyes Answers the Call Where Help is Needed
Logan Reyes was named by his parents after James “Logan” Howlett, otherwise known by his codename Wolverine. Perhaps Marvel’s superhero is an apt comparison for a young man who states that he “wakes up every day striving to make an impact.”
People may not recognize him behind today’s civilian mask, but many know his work; and his effervescent smile and energy are no match for minor obstacles brought on by a pandemic anyway.
The New Jersey resident is already on a rapid trajectory to greatness, having advanced early to his junior year as a dean’s list student in NJIT’s Ying Wu College of Computing as well as earning a coveted position in the National Science Foundation’s CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program, offered by the NJIT Secure Computing Initiative. The competitive scholarship program is awarding Reyes the opportunity to pursue a Master of Science in Cybersecurity and Privacy with full tuition paid and a $34,000 annual stipend along with other expenses and allowances for professional development, books and health insurance. In return, he must complete a summer internship with a participating public service organization and fulfill a post-graduation obligation to work in a public service cybersecurity-related position for each year of scholarship received.
Reyes is confident that public service cybersecurity is where he can make the biggest impact
Reyes recently completed a summer internship with Accenture, a multinational professional services company that specializes in IT services and consulting. He contributed to the company’s cybersecurity efforts for critical infrastructure clients as a participant on an adversarial simulation, also known as an offensive red team operation. Reyes is prohibited from mentioning the clients by name, but one project dealt with maximizing operational security related to mass transportation. His tasks involved port scanning in-scope IP addresses, brute forcing passwords with various technical and non-technical methods, and leading a social engineering campaign. “That’s about all I can tell you,” he said with a smile. Sometimes, in the pursuit of truth and justice, it’s fun to play the villain.
In any industry, success is measured not only in talent but by character and integrity as well. During his Accenture internship, Reyes networked with high-level executives who saw the potential to hire someone with superlative skills and could elevate the organizational culture. Although Accenture extended a 2022 internship return offer, Reyes is confident that public service cybersecurity is where he can make the biggest impact. If anything could cause a young man already brimming with positivity to smile wider, the prospect of a career in that sector would be the answer.
Before he saves the cyberworld post-graduation, however, Reyes dedicates time to being a visible presence on the NJIT campus. Through his service as a secretary for the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM) student chapter, he has co-organized several of their major events, including the annual HackNJIT and the inaugural JerseyCTF, where NJIT students competed to solve cybersecurity challenges in a Jeopardy format with more than 600 registrants from 26 countries.
When not involved in computing, Reyes has further honed his leadership skills by assisting at the campus food pantry and supervising a Cypress Hall dorm floor as a resident assistant, acting as the main point-of-contact for any questions or issues that may arise from his 60 first-year residents.
I'm just happy to be here.
One might ask how a student is able to sustain dean’s list status as a CyberCorps scholarship recipient with all its incumbent responsibilities and still find time to manage ACM, the food pantry and the students in his dorm? (He also is an avid baseball fan and somehow finds the time to play and be found in the stands whenever and wherever the New York Yankees have a game.)
Could it actually be a superpower?
“I don’t know everything. But look at my smile. I’m just happy to be here,” said Reyes with a humility that belies the influence he will undoubtedly have as a role model for the best that NJIT and Ying Wu College of Computing have to offer for the future.
