Quinyardo McClain had been working as a security director in northern Virginia when he decided a change in management made for a good time to retire.
But retirement didn’t have a hold on him, so he looked to a local university to start building a new career.
Quinyardo enrolled in the B.S. in Information Systems and Technology Management program at The University of Baltimore in 2022. He sees the program as a step beyond what he already knows toward what he wants to do going forward.
“There are a lot of new thought processes that the business community has to evolve to include and incorporate,” he said. “One of those, a soft skill I’m learning here, is emotional labor. I think it’s critical that management right now is not talking about that.”
In the U.S. Army, Quinyardo, or Q as his friends call him, fixed helicopters. After 20 years, he retired as a staff sergeant. Then, he went to work as a security manager for the federal government, overseeing nearly 200 federal officers. He also spent time as a security information technology director.
Academically, he had associate degrees in business and cybersecurity. But he’s seen the technology and security fields change rapidly over just the past two decades.
“Post-9/11 security is not just a flashlight cop, and that’s how it once was viewed,” Quinyardo said. … “I’m looking at bridging this degree, my experience and looking at working in maybe a nuclear facility, or at one of the power plants that we have here, or even the water treatment plants. It’s not even an alternate career path, but how it’s evolved.”
UBalt was an ideal institution because of its easily accessible location, Quinyardo said. It also offered a degree focused on critical infrastructure protection that he couldn’t find anywhere else. Quinyardo also appreciates the flexibility in course offerings and the professors’ extensive backgrounds that they extend to their lessons.
“I’ve had professors who were working in the statistics field. I’ve had professors who have experience in AI. I have professors with multiple certifications that like to share their knowledge with us, to guide us, and not just teaching through a certification, but teaching through a management style that can contribute to whatever organization you’re going to,” he said.