Professional Biography

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Sydney W. Patton  graduated Laurel Ridge Community College with an Applied Associates Degree in CyberSecurity May 2024.   Sydney was honored to be the 2024 Outstanding Graduate for the Middletown Campus, and to receive the award from, her unofficial mentor and professor that shaped her security professionalism, Dr, James Allen.  

A participant in the G3 grant program, Sydney has been able to build herself into an information security asset.  Her ultimate goal is to defend her community which includes our infrastructure and victims of cyber-stalking.  Education is priority for Sydney, her plans are to obtain a masters degree so she can return to Laurel Ridge and teach the future generations of CyberSecurity professionals.  In the mean time she loves to give security talks to the community, because this is a team sport!  She plans to bring more of this 'local content' into a digital format for future reach.

 While at Laurel Ridge Sydney has achieved and maintain a high GPA which has granted her access into two honor societies.  

1. Phi Theta Kappa is the international honor society for two year community colleges.  She has been president of her campus chapter for two years, and vice president of Virginia West Virginia region for the past year.
2. She is honored to be in the first set of members inducted into Epsilon Pi Tau as it enters the Laurel Ridge Campus.  EPT is the international honor society for professionals in technology.  

As a student ambassador, Sydney has  been challenged to leave her comfort zone and gain experiences of a lifetime.  Adventures like zip lining, a trip to the VA General Assembly, and leadership conference in Roanoke.  It wasn't all play though - she worked along side staff, facility, other student leadership, and the larger student body to facilitate communication of inclusion and that benefited the success of everyone at the college.   Sydney may have been just one voice in a much larger choir, but she was honored to play a part.

Other clubs she participates in at Laurel Ridge

• CyberSecurity Club - a place where students came hone their skills with hands on practice, and participate in competitions.  
• Pride Club - ensuring that Laurel Ridge is an inclusive place for everyone, and helping to raise awareness/support for issues that impact the LGBTQ+ community.

Sydney is the Vice President of the Friends of Samuels Public library. 

Over the summer of 2023 Sydney started a movement that helped raise awareness and gain community support for Samuels Public Library as it battled censorship and an attack on their funding.  Throughout the process Sydney came to see that her passion for information security and education ran deep.  It reinforced that threats to our public infrastructure aren't just digital, ransomware can happen in 3D.

Other programs she works with includes

•  Senior Moments - helping support the senior citizens in her community.
• Front Royal Pride - making sure that Front Royal is a safe and inclusive place for the LGBTQ+ community by raising awareness of matters that impact them and offering support/resources.

Below are many of the awards and achievements Sydney has accomplished (with links when available).

2024 Outstanding Graduate - Middletown Campus - Laurel Ridge Announcement  

2024 Phi Theta Kappa All-USA Academic Team - Cengage Press Release  PTK Press Release

2024 Coca Cola New Century Transfer Pathway Scholar - PTK Story

2024 Virginia All Academic Team - Virginia Community College Story

2024 Jack Kent Cooke Semi-Finalist - JKC Announcement 

2023 & 2024 Most Involved Student Award 

2024 Most Involved Student Ambassador Award 

2023 Distinguished Chapter Officer Award (2nd place)

2024 Virginia Library Association - Friends of the Library Award (as a member of the FOSL board)