What happens when grit meets opportunity? Sam Brown’s path from survival to cybersecurity shows how mentorship and determination can change the trajectory of a life.

In the first official guest episode of Cyber Chronicles, Sam shares the story behind that determination. Raised in an immigrant household and navigating instability at home, she developed a relentless drive to find a way forward. That same grit would later become the foundation of her success in tech and cybersecurity.

A major turning point came through Summer Search, a nonprofit organization that provided mentorship, SAT preparation, college application support, and the kind of long-term guidance that can change the trajectory of a life.

From teaching herself web skills as a teenager, to attending Colgate University, to accidentally discovering enterprise sales through an SDR role at Imperva, Sam reflects on what it really takes to build credibility, develop technical confidence, and create opportunity when you are not starting from a place of access.

How Sam’s early life shaped her “get out and build” mindset and why that grit translated directly into tech and sales success

Why Summer Search mattered so much, from mentorship and prep to college applications, exposure, and long-term support

The underrated career strategy Sam used early: optimize for relationships and networks, not a “perfect” major

What an SDR actually does and why sales felt “meritocratic” compared to the chaos she grew up with

How she leveled up quickly by becoming technically literate, shadowing security teams, learning the OSI model, and asking better questions

The real challenge of moving into a closing role: not being “too nice,” but being taken seriously, and what finally shifted that

A practical career filter: “Who would you follow?” Build a roster of leaders you trust, then track where they go

Sam Brown is a cybersecurity sales professional whose career was built through grit, mentorship, and a deep curiosity for technology. After attending Colgate University with the support of Summer Search, she entered the tech industry through an SDR role at Imperva and went on to build a successful career in cybersecurity sales.

Summer Search: https://summersearch.org/

In the very first episode of Cyber Chronicles, host Lisa Jones Huff shares the personal and professional journey that led her into cybersecurity and why she created this podcast in the first place.

Lisa reflects on growing up in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, being raised by a single mother, and how sports, grit, and a strong work ethic helped shape her early mindset. She walks through the unexpected career path that took her from studying accounting to building computers from scratch, working in networking and security consulting, and eventually becoming a respected leader in cybersecurity pre-sales.

Along the way, Lisa opens up about the challenges of being one of the only women in the room, the importance of confidence and active listening, and the lessons she learned about leadership, self-advocacy, and finding balance in a demanding industry.

This episode sets the tone for Cyber Chronicles: honest conversations about the people behind cybersecurity, the paths they took to get there, and the lessons they learned along the way