This Embry-Riddle Graduate is Ready for the Next Chapter

Jocelynn Hubbert (’26) is stepping into post-grad life with a bright future on the horizon. She leaves Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Daytona Beach, Florida, campus with a degree in Homeland Security and Intelligence and a wealth of on-campus experiences that have prepared her to start off strong in her role at Northrop Grumman.

Here, Jocelynn walks us through her early experiences with the computer science discipline and how that influenced her academic journey. She speaks to how her personal and professional growth blossomed and shares a well-rounded perspective on maximizing the college experience at Embry-Riddle.

What initially sparked your interest in Embry-Riddle, and how did you decide to attend?

The university was initially recommended to me by my friend’s father, who works at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

My family and I had been vacationing in Florida on and off since I was born, so I was familiar with the area as well, and I had two family friends living within driving distance of the university.

These three factors contributed to my decision to attend Embry-Riddle.

How did you decide to pursue Homeland Security and Computer Science disciplines?

My grandmother was a nursing professor at a local community college. As a child, I would periodically go to work with her and play games on the office computer during downtime.

The high school I attended required us to choose a future major while we were in eighth grade, and I picked computer science.

These early moments influenced my initial decision to pursue a computer science discipline. I enrolled at Embry-Riddle as a Computer Science student to continue what I had worked on throughout high school.

After learning about the Homeland Security and Intelligence degree from other peers and close friends, I discovered that it more closely aligned with what I wanted to do for a career.

I decided to switch majors but wanted to keep computer science a part of my academic journey, which led me to pursue a major in Homeland Security and Intelligence and a minor in Computer Science.

What are you most looking forward to about joining Northrop Grumman, and what was the process of pursuing the position?

I am excited to start a new chapter of my life as an associate industrial security analyst at Northrop Grumman.

I applied for the same position at two different locations, Elkton, Maryland, and Rocket Center, West Virginia.

Within one month of submitting my first application, I was fortunate enough to be offered interviews for both locations, conducted within nine days of each other. Five days after my second interview, I received and accepted a full-time offer at the Elkton location.

I am looking forward to seeing how what I’ve learned during my four years at Embry-Riddle is applied in the real world.

What advice would you give to a student who is seeking their first full-time job?

I would tell them not to give up. Giving up is very easy to do after facing rejection numerous times.

Through my experience, I’ve learned that rejection is often redirection that leads you to a bigger opportunity.

Are there any resources at Embry-Riddle that helped you identify or land the job?

The resource at Embry-Riddle that helped me the most with landing the job was the internship requirement for my degree path. It is a graduation requirement for our program to complete at least one internship.

I fulfilled this requirement through my internship with Volusia County Emergency Management during the summer of 2025.

This internship gave me hands-on experience in my field and talking points for future interviews, and it helped me stand out to recruiters during the job search process.

What is the biggest takeaway from your experience at Embry-Riddle?

My biggest takeaway from my experience at Embry-Riddle is the importance of developing resilience. College is not meant to be easy. There have been multiple moments throughout my journey at Embry-Riddle where I felt that giving up would be the easier route; however, I kept going.

What advice would you give to an Embry-Riddle student who is just starting out?

Do not be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone and choose at least one group to get involved in.

For me, that group was the Embry-Riddle Pep Band. Joining the band inspired me to apply for the orientation team. Getting involved in New Student Orientation opened the door to getting hired as a peer mentor.

These positions have shaped me as a person and a leader. If I had not stepped outside of my comfort zone and gotten involved on campus, my college experience would have been drastically different.