Barrios

Assistant Professor of Cyber Security Rita Barrios wears many hats at University of Detroit Mercy. Currently, Barrios, who received an M.S. from UDM in 2003, teaches Introduction to Computers, Software Requirements and Web Design. She also is involved with the Center for Cyber Security and Intelligence Studies. Outside the classroom, she encourages young women to pursue technology through Camp Infinity, a technology day camp for middle school girls. This past summer, Camp Infinity took place on UDM's McNichols Campus.

"I have been the only female on many of the teams I participated with throughout my career. In the Computer Information Systems program there are about 10 females out of about 70 students," she said. "I can say with a high degree of certainty that only about two or three will actually graduate and seek out employment in the technology space. I hope to change that."

Barrios, who joined UDM in 2005 as adjunct faculty while a database administrator for Compuware, never actually intended to pursue an academic career. "While completing my Ph.D., I received a call from UDM asking if I would be interested in a full-time teaching position," she said. "It was incredibly scary to leave a very good and secure profession of more than 20 years. But here I am." She converted to full-time faculty in 2008.

Barrios' other degrees include a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Detroit College of Business, and a Ph.D. in Computer Information Systems – Cyber Security from Nova Southeastern University. Despite rapid technological advancements, Barrios contends that software development has not changed dramatically. "We still use the tried and true processes and methods that have been perfected over the last 40 years, but it is the software environment that keeps the knowledge going," she said.

To a great extent, Barrios attributes her career growth to a solid work ethic. "Over the years, I have found that my biggest asset was to never say, 'I can't.' I've never turned down an opportunity to move my career forward.  I took any project that came my way," she said.  "I started as a data center operator working midnights in a computer room doing the 'grunt work' like running payroll and print jobs, bringing regions up and down, and preparing the backup/recovery storage boxes."

Barrios is equally passionate about Camp Infinity. "UDM was selected as the host school to implement the camp in an urban area to support the under-resourced student," she said. "We had 44 middle school students from Detroit, Highland Park, Harper Woods, and River Rouge." Barrios' long-standing relationship with Michigan Council of Women in Technology (MCWT) led to the camp's location at UDM. "I am on the partnership team which seeks out funding via partnerships with significant IT organizations," she said. "MCWT was seeking out a university in Detroit that could host the camp in order to meet the terms and conditions of the GM Foundation grant they had received."

The weeklong camp's focus is simple. "The only goal of the camp is to encourage and support females who show an interest in the technologies," she said. "We know that most females who do enjoy math and science tend to 'drop out' by the time they reach high school for a whole host of reasons, but more often than not because of peer pressure. We want to change that attitude to show them that it's ok to follow your passions."

According to Barrios, the campers learn technology through robotics and web design. "The girls spent the week building robots using Lego Mindstorm as well as developing their own websites. During the closing events, their robots competed in a RoboWar of sorts for bragging rights," she said. "They also had the opportunity to learn about robotics via UDM's award-winning robotics student team, and spent time learning about technology careers by interacting with people from organizations such as GM, Ford, Microsoft, Cisco, STG, IBM and Compuware." With the support of CLAE Interim Dean Roy Finkenbine, Barrios is optimistic about the camp's return to UDM in 2013.

Barrios hopes that measures such as these will encourage greater female interest in technology. However, she does not consider this to be an exclusively gender-based issue. "I am not a feminist by any degree. I have never viewed my gender as being a hindrance or a roadblock," she said.  "I just want to see people follow their passions and to believe in who they are. And I think it's pretty cool to be a computer geek!"