Ajante

My name is Ajante. I am a 17-year-old aspiring computer scientist and mathematician.  I believe that I have left my mark on this program, since I am not like most of the members of AntiguaRecon. I joined the existing team late as they were preparing for the HackTheBox Junior Pentester Certification. This was around mid-May. I was also studying for and taking the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams. It was a stressful time. However, all I could think about was “What am I going to do once I’m done with secondary school?” 

After sitting the exams, I knew that I wanted to go to the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Five Islands Campus in Antigua–but I also thought about getting a headstart in my career.  It was a random post from a friend that ultimately led me to an advertisement for a cybersecurity session that was being hosted at Island Academy, right here in Antigua. 

On the first day of class, I was mortified, shocked and even petrified. I was met with one of the most frightening scenes of my life. A 6’ 4” older man towered over me to greet me and welcome me to the class.  After the first day, I thought I had signed up for a book club because there was so much reading and a lot of yawning.  I soon understood that this was a necessary introduction for things to come in pentesting. As such, one of my favorite moments during the program occurred in the later sessions when I actually got to do some pentesting. It was so exhilarating and fun to do.  Another was being able to interact with my peers.  We have formed a truly amazing connection over the months we have trained alongside one another. I also liked harassing the hell out of Adam and having a good laugh afterwards. 

Ultimately, if there is one thing that I have  taken away from my experience with AntiguaRecon, it is that teamwork really does make the dream work. This is something I will never forget.

So, what is next for me? Now that I am a certified Bug Bounty Hunter, I am ready to go after the CompTIA PenTest+ Certification.  However, 2023 seems like it is going to be a challenging year. I just started UWI, my Youth Ambassadors Program project and am going after small certifications in various fields in Information Technology.