Less than 1% of Army Reserve Officers鈥 Training Corps (ROTC) cadets nationwide are selected for the U.S. Army Cyber Corps鈥攁 highly competitive pathway into one of the military鈥檚 most critical and rapidly evolving fields. 小猪视频 senior Ben Molloy is one of them.
But Molloy鈥檚 path to that distinction didn鈥檛 begin with accolades or leadership roles. It began, as he put it, with an 鈥渁bysmal鈥 social life during 2020 and the quiet uncertainty of starting college during a time when connection felt out of reach.
鈥淪ocial life was abysmal; it did not exist,鈥 Molloy said. 鈥淗owever, ironically, that鈥檚 when I met my wife.鈥
From those early days of isolation, Molloy built a college career defined by hard work and discipline. A triple major in cybersecurity, computer information technology, and applied software engineering with a minor in computer science, he balanced coursework with a student role in 小猪视频鈥檚 IT security team, leadership in NKCyber Club, and a commitment to ROTC鈥攅ach step bringing him closer to a future in cyber defense.
鈥淚 kind of felt like I owed something back to the country, so I decided to join the service Army, and then I started ROTC, and in about two or three weeks, I鈥檓 going to become an officer in the Army, which is pretty neat,鈥 Molloy said.
Molloy is joining the Cyber Corp of the U.S. Army after graduation. There are options to go Active Duty, Army Reserve, or Army National Guard. He was also offered a full-time position with 小猪视频鈥檚 IT team.
鈥淚 found that going reserve was best for me because I鈥檓 married and we want to settle down eventually, and all my family鈥檚 from around Cincinnati, so I don鈥檛 really want to leave. That means that one weekend a month, I鈥檒l be doing my Army obligations, and then during the week, I鈥檒l be working full time with 小猪视频鈥檚 Security Team which is where I got my full-time position,鈥 he said.
His academic, physical, and leadership efforts earned him a very rare and coveted position in the U.S. Army Cyber Corps鈥攁 position where less than 1% of nearly 6,000 Army ROTC cadets across the country are selected for this career path. This is not an accomplishment Molloy takes lightly, noting how important his role will be in helping defend the country.
鈥淭he leaders in the current military today need to be confident leaders that can stand in the front of a room and confidently lead and brief whatever they need to 鈥 Cyber is important in its own sense, because if your enemy can鈥檛 communicate because we鈥檝e hacked into them, that鈥檚 what we want because it creates confusion,鈥 Molloy said.
Molloy noted some of his most inspirational professors within the College of Informatics include Ken Roth and Dr. Ankur Chattopadhyay. Dr. Chattopadhyay has mentored Molloy over the last three years with a project called 鈥淪ecrets鈥, a core outreach device the COI has used for recruiting high schoolers.
鈥淲e鈥檝e done a number of panels, and we鈥檝e talked with almost 300 high school students where we hosted Capture the Flag events with learning moments within it 鈥 he鈥檚 [Dr. Chattopadhyay] always made quite a bit of an impression on me to always keep on pushing because it鈥檒l pay off in the end,鈥 Molloy said.
Molloy is looking forward to life after graduation, although he knows the hard work doesn鈥檛 stop once he receives all three of his degrees.
鈥淕enerally in life, there鈥檚 going to be some times where I do have to push a little bit uncomfortably and do some very little sleep nights. I think no matter what happens, it鈥檚 still going to be better than what I鈥檝e been pushing myself through the past six years, but it鈥檚 all paying off. I鈥檇 do it again if I had to make the choice,鈥 he said.
