When Raylene Lopez arrived at Syracuse University in 2020, she had every intention of becoming a doctor. As a first-generation college student from the Bronx, New York, she felt pressure to pursue one of the few career paths her family knew could lead to a stable future. “It was very like… doctor or lawyer,” she said. “I didn’t know any other career fields.”
She started out as a biochemistry major, then shifted to psychology, still unsure of where she truly belonged. It wasn’t until she took a leap and accepted an IT internship with the New York City Department of Sanitation that something clicked. “I liked computers growing up,” she said. “But I never saw anyone in that career field who looked like me, so I always felt intimidated.”
That internship experience—and encouragement from a supportive supervisor—led Raylene to explore technology more seriously. Her academic advisor in the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) helped her chart a new path, one that would ultimately lead her to the iSchool. “I didn’t enjoy psychology at all, and once I started taking IT classes, I actually did exponentially better,” she said.
Raylene transferred into the iSchool and found a sense of belonging that had been missing. “Because the iSchool is small, I felt more community,” she said. “The professors knew me by name. I had never experienced that before.”
Now a senior pursuing a double major in Information Management and Technology and Psychology, Raylene has focused her studies on information security management, with a career goal of working in digital forensics for law enforcement. “I chose sales and relationship management after realizing, through working in food service all five years at Syracuse, that I genuinely enjoy communicating and connecting with people. I still love cybersecurity, especially on the GRC and risk management side, and I think combining IT with psychology will help me explain technical concepts to clients in a way that’s easy to understand.”
Through the iSchool, Raylene has taken full advantage of experiential learning opportunities, participating in both EuroTech and EntreTech immersion programs. She also became a Gilman Scholar, which enabled her to travel abroad for the first time. “I had never even been to the Dominican Republic, where my family is from,” she said. “EuroTech was my first time leaving the country. It meant a lot.”
She also attended the Tapia Conference in San Diego, a diversity-in-tech event where she found powerful inspiration. “This is a white male-dominated field,” Raylene said. “Seeing people who looked like me, who held leadership positions in tech, helped ease the imposter syndrome. It helped me see into the future.”
Mentors like Professor Christopher Perrello have been instrumental in her journey. “He’s been so supportive,” she said. “I wouldn’t have spoken at most of the events I did if he hadn’t pushed me.”
Raylene graduated with a dual BS/BA from Syracuse and is going to John Jay College of Criminal Justice MS Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity full-time, and accepted an offer in BlackRock’s Headquarters in NYC as a Summer Analyst in Sales and Relationship Management under the Aladdin Client Business team.