Dante Alabastro spent 15 years as a ballet dancer before he ever set foot in a classroom for formal education — his training took the place of school for most of his childhood and young adulthood. It wasn’t until four years after high school that he began the path that would eventually lead him into cybersecurity.
He earned his Associate’s degree in Network Security from City College of San Francisco with Highest Honors, working toward a transfer degree in Computer Science.
“CCSF has been an invaluable resource,” he says, encouraging any San Francisco resident to take advantage of what’s available to them “regardless of their education status.”
His turn toward cybersecurity happened almost by accident. In his first Network Security course, CNIT 120, his instructor dumped a box of locks on the table and spent the class teaching students to pick them. “I never thought that was something you could learn at school,” he says — and he was hooked.
Advanced courses in Ethical Hacking (CNIT 124) and Exploit Development (CNIT 127) connected him to CCSF’s ethical hacking team and jumpstarted his career. He has since joined FireEye’s Information Security Operations team as an Information Security Analyst, working to protect the company from internal and external threats.
His ballet background still shapes how he navigates his career. Drawing on years of auditions, he offers a piece of advice to students facing rejection in the job search: it’s rarely personal.
“No matter how much they like you or want to hire you, there are many cases where the company is looking to hire a very specific person in a very specific role,” he says. “This is not a reflection of your personal ability.”
He didn’t land a job at FireEye until his second time applying. “Persistence is key,” he says, “and eventually, you will be the right person for the job.”