IST Identity Talks: Military and Veterans in Tech

Panelists

Daniel Battisto ’18
Information Security Engineer, Workday Inc.

Daniel Battisto, originally from the Philadelphia area, began his career as a physical security specialist in the United States Air Force where he had the opportunity to serve in several roles that provided him the opportunity to support Air Force One missions and work at the White House. After leaving the military in 2014, Daniel has supported the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense in a variety of information security toles. Daniel lives in the Washington, D.C. area is now employed as an information security engineer for Workday Inc., and is finishing his M.Eng of Cybersecurity Policy and Compliance through George Washington University.

1st Lt. Juliana Wright Coleman ’18
C-130J pilot, United States Air Force

1st Lt. Juliana Coleman is currently serving as a C-130J pilot in the United States Air Force. Juliana graduated from Penn State with a degree in Security and Risk Analysis and a minor in Military Studies in 2018. After graduation, she was commissioned into the Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant and attended Pilot Training in Columbus, Mississippi. She and her husband, who is also a Penn State alumnus and C-130J pilot, are stationed out of Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas.

Michael Payne '20
Data Leakage Prevention – US Team Leader, UBS

Michael Payne is currently the Data Leakage Prevention Team Leader – United States at UBS - Union Bank of Switzerland. He served 26+ years in the United States Marine Corps, and attained the rank of Sergeant Major. While an active duty service member, he completed his degree in Security and Risk Analysis – Information and Cybersecurity through Penn State World Campus. While at Penn State, he was selected as one of two RSA Security Scholars to represent the Pennsylvania State University at RSA Conference – San Francisco.

Lance Corporal Nhien Truong (USMC Reservist) ’21
IT Security Analyst, Underwriters Labs

Lance Corporal Nhien Truong enlisted in February 2019. After completing the training and check in to his Reserve Unit, the pandemic happened. As a result, he couldn’t find a job and instead focused on earning a college degree in Information Sciences and Technology through Penn State World Campus. At first, finding a job and internship was hard, sometimes he got stuck not getting any call backs, but the Office of Career Solutions in the College of IST was very dedicated and provided helpful resources. Lance Corporal Truong started getting more communication from recruiters after having some resume reviewing sessions. After taking ENGL 202D – Business Writing, he was able to get an offer from Tesla for a position based on his military experience. A few weeks before graduating, Lance Corporal Truong found a recruiter’s posting from Underwriters Labs on LinkedIn, reached out and applied. He is now entry-level with the company, working for their Cryptography compliance team.