Every summer, several Rutgers students attend the OmniSOC internship program and get to transform into cyber superheroes as they learn how to protect communities and organizations from hackers, hunt viruses, and gain work experience at a security operations center (SOC).
Interns are chosen from the Big Ten schools that founded the program, including Indiana University, Purdue University, University of Nebraska, Northwestern University, and Rutgers. Students apply for the OmniSOC internship in the hopes of gaining experience expanding their cybersecurity knowledge and growing their interest and expertise throughout the six-week program. This summer, Edson Hidalgo, Nicholas Loconsolo, and Matthew Eng were the chosen Rutgers students who participated in the OmniSOC internship program.
“The most important lesson that I learned was to stand out,” says Matthew Eng, a senior who attended the program. “Whether this is regarding your journey, current skills, knowledge, or achievements, making yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd is crucial.”
Selected interns receive a stipend, spend the first three weeks at Indiana University–Bloomington, where they live in on-campus housing, and later return to their respective schools for the final three weeks. Through collaboration and learning alongside esteemed cybersecurity specialists, students learn to protect large-scale networks.
“This experience taught me the importance of using frameworks to understand the methodology of an attack and how playbooks outline the step-by-step remediation for the issue,” says Nicholas Loconsolo, a senior at Rutgers University.
Additionally, interns were able to connect with many other cybersecurity professionals, likeminded interns, and work closely with Big Ten universities through OmniSOC.
“My experience working with the other Big Ten universities was wonderful,” says Eng. “It was interesting to learn about everyone’s different backgrounds and journeys to get to where they currently are in their careers.”
Both Eng and Loconsolo agreed that connecting to other cybersecurity professionals and interns enriched their experience by networking and diversifying their learning beyond the classroom.
“Many security professionals I spoke with highlighted the importance of maintaining professional relationships and growing your network,” Loconsolo explains. “A healthy network can lead to potential employment opportunities that would only have been possible with consistent communication.”
After a summer of immersive experiences working at a security operations center, students come away with vital skills and knowledge to leverage on their resumes and in their future careers. If you are interested in applying for the summer 2025 internship, you can learn more about it and keep an eye out for the application announcement on the OmniSOC website.
“To other students who are unsure of whether or not they should apply, I would one hundred percent recommend doing it,” says Eng. “Regardless of how comfortable you are with cybersecurity, you’ll end up having multiple chances to network with talented individuals, delve into an important field, and most importantly have a great time.
Tags: Camden, IT community, network, New Brunswick, Newark, OmniSOC, security, technology trends