How did you go from UTSA to the NSA so quickly?

Andrew Hutton's internship at the National Security Agency was so successful, he made sure to secure a permanent position following his graduation UTSA.

"I loved it. I showed up and was working on code and pushing stuff to production right away," Hutton said. "One of the things that attracted me to the Agency is that the work we do here really matters. Sometimes people's lives are on the line, and being able to protect people from tangible threats is very rewarding."

One experience that helped prepare him for the work at NSA was helping to launch a startup in college, Hutton explained. He and several classmates created an app for people putting on events.

"In a startup, you're faced with new challenges every day, so you have to do intense problem solving," he said. "You learn to interface with customers and relate their needs into technical requirements and actions, which is a skill you need to be successful in the workforce."

Hutton joined NSA's Texas Cryptology Intern Program the summer before his senior year. Once at NSA, he was amazed to learn how much work is done to protect national security and, also, how much more work needs to be done.

"People don't always see it, but they're being protected from threats across the world on a daily basis because of the work we do here," he said.