For Dr. Raheem A. Beyah, the journey toward a career in teaching cybersecurity began with a simple desire to make sure his mother wouldn’t have to struggle.
He recalls how his mother, a single parent, used to work three jobs — two in doctors’ offi ces and one at a retail store — in order to make ends meet.
“My mom had just such a really hard time and I realized at an early age, 14 or 15, the only way to help her out of this situation, the only hope was I had to step my game up,” says Beyah. “I figured at that point the only way out for us was academics.”
Beyah says overnight he became a 4.0 student and plowed “100 miles an hour” through college and graduate school; He has been going strong ever since.
Today, Beyah is Motorola Foundation Professor and associate chair for strategic initiatives and innovation at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“I’m living a life now that I never dreamed even existed, which is just crazy,” says Beyah, who is a proud graduate of Th e Atlanta public schools.
“I’ve traveled all around the world, been all sorts of places and done interesting things, talks in China and Spain.”
