MAY 25, 2023 – After more than a decade working the night shift as a crime scene investigator for the San Antonio Police Department, Olinda Cardenas ’23 decided a B.B.A. in Cyber Security with UTSA Online would help her move from labs, courtrooms and crime scenes into investigating cybercrime and a job with a daytime schedule.
“It's always funny when you tell people that you are or were a crime scene investigator,” said Cardenas. “The first thing that they ask is, ‘Oh my, like on TV?’ and I'm like, ‘No, not like TV, I wish it was that glamorous.’”
The conditions became even more difficult when Cardenas was tagged as an essential employee in the opening months of the pandemic. The grueling schedule and the increased pressures of COVID-19 restrictions left her exhausted. It was common for her to take on new cases just as her shift was ending or to have to report to court as an expert witness during what would have been her sleeping hours.
“When I first started that career, I said that if I was no longer enjoying my job then it was time to leave,” she said.
During those early months of the pandemic, she noticed that one of her coworkers had started a new online degree program with UTSA.
“I started just kind of picking her brain, neither of us had any computer science background or cyber background, none of it -- so it was going to be a fresh introduction to all that stuff,” said Cardenas. “So, I did my research. I didn't know that UTSA was a highly regarded university for cybersecurity, and I think the program is only getting better.”
UTSA is a nationally recognized leader in cybersecurity. It is one of few colleges or universities in the nation – and the only Hispanic Serving Institution – to have three National Centers of Academic Excellence designations from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and National Security Agency. The university is also home to five cybersecurity research centers and institutes. Additionally, U.S. News and World Report placed UTSA Online in the top quarter of all online bachelor’s degree programs, jumping from No. 246 in 2021 to No. 85 in 2023 for an overall 65% increase in rank in two years.
Cardenas was confident that she’d be able to transition to a new phase of her criminal investigative career with her experience and a new degree. She enrolled with UTSA and then got a new job with Ernst & Young’s Financial Services Organization, where she now works to combat money laundering.
While the flexibility of UTSA’s fully online degree program was critical to her academic success, the encouragement from the faculty was equally important.
“I had no idea what I was getting myself into, I don't know how to code, I don't know what networks are like, can I do this?” she recalls thinking at the start of the program. “UTSA and its professors have really been supportive and helpful and have made me feel like, you know what? I'm ready to take the next step in my cyber career,” she added.
As a graduate who crossed the Commencement stage this weekend, Cardenas became the newest graduate in her Roadrunner family. One of her stepsons is working toward a master’s degree in psychology from UTSA, and the other will begin studying for a bachelor’s degree in cyber security in Fall 2023.
“It will open a vast number of opportunities once I have graduated,” she said. “Being a part of the online cybersecurity program has allowed me to meet fantastic professors within the industry as well as classmates who share similar interests.”
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to setup an EndNote library, save references and PDFs, and automatically create and edit a bibliography. Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to have EndNote already installed on a personal computer.
Virtual EventJoin this annual community celebration of Mexico’s independence sponsored by the Avenida Guadalupe Association. UTSA’s Westside Community Center—located at the parade’s starting location at Guadalupe and Brazos Streets—will be open to visitors for the duration of the event.
UTSA Westside Community Center, 1310 Guadalupe St, San Antonio, TX 78207Don’t mind the writing but hate formatting citations and bibliographies? Working on your thesis or dissertation, or even a long paper this semester? Citation managers such as Zotero® can help you store and organize the citations you find during your research. Take part in this session about using Zotero®.
Virtual EventDid you know the library offers much more than books and study spaces? Our librarians can also support your research and publishing and strengthen your instruction. Join us for a one-hour workshop about all that UTSA Libraries offers.
Virtual EventAre you interested in learning more about incorporating digital methods into your research? This workshop will introduce you to approaches and tools that can help support your research. Through hands-on activities, you will learn about text analysis and digital mapping and how these methods can enrich your projects.
Group Spot B, 2.01.22, John Peace LibraryLearn to use the simple but powerful features of EndNote®, a citation management tool. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to setup an EndNote library, save references and PDFs, and automatically create and edit a bibliography.
Virtual EventAproduction of the Gudalupe Cultural Arts Center, Rio Bravo showcases the vibrant music and dance traditions of the Texas-Mexico border region. Featuring the Guadalupe Dance Company and Mariachi Azteca de América, the performances will be filmed live both nights, courtesy of UTSA's College of Liberal and Fine Arts.
UTSA Downtown CampusThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.