Highlights

Melanie is a current employee of Raytheon CODEX where she works as an Information System Security Officer. She is happy to have made lasting friendships within the College of Information Sciences and Technology and believes that being open-minded in college led her to where she is today.

Melanie’s Story

Melanie Treff graduated from Penn State in the spring of 2019 with a degree from the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) in Security Risk Analysis: Intelligence Analysis and Modeling. She currently works as an Information System Security Officer (ISSO) for Raytheon CODEX. 

Melanie grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and knew from the beginning that she wanted a big school atmosphere. She toured Penn State University Park with her family in the dead of winter. It was cold and snowy but Melanie still loved every minute of it and fell in love with the campus. Overall, she felt that it had a nice vibe and just knew that it was the right fit for her. She said that other family members of hers that went to Penn State really had nothing bad to say about it. The Penn State campus felt unique compared to what she knew growing up and it seemed like people were really proud to say they went there. This only made her even more excited to attend.

Melanie actually started out her Penn State experience as part of the Smeal College of Business. After those first few weeks of classes she found that the Smeal lectures were not for her. She later visited the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) in search of her passion. There she saw a flyer for the College of IST and its programs which were relatively new at the time. This was a unique subject to her which only made her want to know more about it. Melanie decided to meet with someone from the college in order to learn more. Later that spring she decided to enroll in entry-level IST classes. She describes this as quite literally “falling into her career.”

Once part of the College of IST, Melanie found the small community that she was able to call her home. She met some of her closest friends in this college that she is still in touch with today. She felt that the smaller class sizes really allowed for the creation of lasting relationships and one-on-one learning. Because many of the classes were project based, she would often continue to work in groups of the same few people. Melanie felt that she could really grow with the other people in her major this way. 

Outside of being a student, Melanie was part of different THON committees and later became an ambassador for the college. She was also a learning assistant (LA) for one of the IST professors she had early on in her college career. 

After graduating, Melanie first worked for Deloitte as an Advisory Risk Consultant for about one year. It was a great experience, but she realized it wasn’t the type of work she wanted to continue in long-term. She wanted to do something from a more technical perspective. At the early stages of the pandemic this year, Melanie applied for what is now her current position as an ISSO at Raytheon. She is very content with her job which is also very close to her home. 

Some advice that Melanie has for current, prospective, and incoming students is to “be open minded” in all aspects. College is an entirely new mindset for all freshmen. She urges students to be open to trying new things both academically and non-academically. It is in these moments where you learn a lot about yourself and your likes and dislikes. If she hadn’t enrolled in IST courses on a whim she wouldn’t be where she is today. Melanie tells students to “take initiative” on their own education because you can control where it goes and where you will end up. At the very least, you will be able to learn something new about yourself.