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Network Security Solutions Architect, Ericsson

Even for those who go directly from commencement to a master’s degree program, there’s usually an opportunity for at least a few weeks of R&R. 

Taylor Hartley had 48 hours. 

Following her service with the U.S. Navy, Taylor was living with her partner in Japan and finishing her undergraduate degree from CU Denver when the pandemic brought life to a standstill. Unsure of what to do next, she followed the advice of her academic advisor. 

“He said, ‘Get your semester done over the summer, you’ll graduate summa cum laude, you’ll get in anywhere you want,’” she said. “And so, I crammed in a whole fall semester over the  summer, had my last final on a Saturday, flew from Japan to Florida and that Monday, started the MBA.” 

Taylor credits her military service for helping her make it happen. 

“Adaptability and flexibility are two things the military definitely emphasizes,” she said. “That’s where I learned to roll with the punches.” 

In another sense, she’s been rolling with the punches her whole life. Taylor had a modest childhood, growing up in a broken home in Alabama; she left high school at 16 to work full time and better support herself. 

“I was working as a waitress, and I just didn’t see a way out,” she said. “That’s when I started going to recruiters’ offices.” 

Taylor served in the Navy until the fall of 2018, rising to the rank of petty officer second class, as a cryptological technical collector (CTR). In that role, she did airborne reconnaissance, penetrating networks to gather intelligence. Now, she’s on the other side of the keyboard, helping keep 5G communications secure at Ericsson.  

“I have the bad-guy perspective, I know what it’s like to be on the other side, so I know what to look out for,” she said. 

Her naval service also brought her to Colorado for the first time. She did her first tour here, and would occasionally visit Boulder to hang out with people her age. 

“I had so much responsibility, and all the other kids my age were in college, living this normal college life,” she said. “I would hang out with them, I went to a few parties, and it felt like an alternate universe—like, this is what a normal life might have looked like. 

“And, then, 10 years later, I finally got to do it.” 

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