About Me
My story
cout << “Hello World”; My name is Luke vaccarella, and I am currently studying CyberSecurity as an undergraduate student at Florida State University.
Growing up, I played every sport you could think of, and ended up playing Ice Hockey at one of the highest levels possible. If there is one thing I learned from sports, it is the importance of teamwork. As team captain for most of my career, I learned how to both manage my teammates,and maximize their potential. I am a firm believer of the saying “You are only as strong as your weakest link”. This saying is very applicable when it comes to teamwork not only in sports, but also the workplace. By pushing yourself and the people around you to be the best they can be, you can conquer almost any task imaginable.
When I wasn’t at practice or games, you would probably find me in my room on a computer. From a young age, I have been fascinated with computers, more specifically, how they work. At the age of 15 I built my first computer from scratch (Shoutout dad for trusting a 15 year old kid to do that). As an avid gamer growing up, I was thrilled to have built this beast of a gaming machine, that was, until I found out the true strength of computers. I will forever remember being in an extremley competitive Call of Duty Search and Destroy game when all of a sudden, someone told me “have a nice day kid”. A few moments later, my computers connection to the internet was completley blocked off. I sat in there in disbelief thinking “How did someone just do this?”. Instead of just sitting there and thinking about how someone could do that, I spent weeks learning how somebody could do that, and how I could protect myself and friends from being victims of such an attack in the future. A few years later, I found myself sitting in a Criminology class thinking about how much I wish I choce to study computers instead. After a talk with my dean at the time, I decided to switch my major to CyberSecurity, and it has been one of the best choices I have made. While I still have a lot to learn about technology, there is no task too big or too small for me. I love learning about emerging technologies and the different ways to protect myself and others.
As for experience, I am proficcient in the C++ programming language, have used both Microsoft Azure and Virtualbox to create virtual hacking machines, have used the Navy’s CORE network simulator to simulate certain networking scenarios, have connected virtual Windows machines to servers, managed profiles using Active Directory, and have used Wireshark to anaylze TCP/IP at the packet level. Down below, I post updates on some of the recent things I have been working on and learning. I have also served as a legal clerk at my father’s law firm in Fort Lauderdale, where I was tasked with managing other clerks, providing legal research for attorneys, and documenting certain legal procedings. I plan on graduating in the fall of 2024, and look forward to finding out what the future has in store for me!
