Josh Dwight: Outstanding senior in cyber security engineering

Clubs and activities

I am on the Flying Buttresses Intramural Curling team which made it to the semi-finals last year (hopefully the finals this year, fingers crossed), I attended the fall 2025 Cyber Defense Challenge, where I placed second, and attended a hackathon where the theme was computer vision in farming (really fun and useful too because there is a team at John Deere that does computer vision in the field).

Valuable hands-on learning in class

The final project in CPRE 2880 was such a blast. All the labs leading up to it really taught you how to use the datasheet and Professor Phillip Jones was a fantastic teacher.

Our team did autonomous navigation, and I was in charge of the algorithm that determined the bot’s next move. The most satisfying thing that happened to me at Iowa State was when our autonomous Roomba finished the obstacle course and completed the goal we set. After a week or two of being in the lab super late daily, our bot FINALLY worked, and it was maybe the happiest I ever was in my entire academic career. It was like watching your baby take its first steps, or maybe like watching your kid win a basketball tournament or something. It was awesome.

Valuable out-of-the-classroom experience

My time working on the cloud security team at John Deere has 100% been the most valuable out-of-the-classroom learning.

Most influential mentor

Professor Md Maruf Ahamed has probably been my most influential mentor. He is currently my client/advisor for Senior Design, and I had him as my professor for many of my classes throughout my time at Iowa State. I love the way he teaches, and I feel like his classes and labs are always extremely beneficial.

Plans after graduation

I am going to pursue a career in cybersecurity or software engineering. I feel like my time at Iowa State and John Deere has thoroughly prepared me for a career in either of these fields.

A memorable moment of kindness

During the fall 2025 Cyber Defense Challenge, my friend Mason Kotlarz was extremely helpful to the entire team and ensured that everyone knew what was happening and what to do next. Because of his fantastic explanations, we placed second. I won’t forget the kindness he showed and will continue to use the knowledge I learned from him to further my career in cybersecurity.

Support from Engineering Career Services

The rapid resume review was super helpful since it was a very quick thing that I could go to in my busy schedule to get some advice on my resume. The career fair was also super helpful since it was how I got my current job at John Deere as a part-time student on the Cloud Security team.

Engineering like a Cyclone Engineer

I feel like the coursework at Iowa State is a very solid foundation and gives you enough confidence to go out and learn on your own. You will learn how to teach yourself effectively and how to learn from others. These are very important life skills and have been strengthened more and more every semester at Iowa State. I am now confident to go out and learn whatever interests me since my time at Iowa State has given me a hunger for knowledge and the ability to satiate that hunger.

Most inspiring location on campus

I really enjoy the techier side of Coover. Many of my classes and labs were in Coover, so it was definitely my most frequently visited building on campus. After class, it was super easy to just go to one of the lounges or sit on one of the many couches around the building and either relax or get some work done. The library was also very nice for group work since the group study rooms were easy to use and always very quiet while also fostering a collaborative environment.