Frances Schroeder
SUCCESS STORIES > HACKING FOR DEFENSE
Frances Schroeder
Stanford University, H4D Spring 2021
Team Mongoose, Malicious cyber actors on disposable infrastructure
About Frances
Frances is an H4D alumni and a current senior at Stanford University. Along with her fellow teammates, she worked on a H4D project to combat malicious cyber actors on disposable infrastructure targeting government networks. By developing a technique to more quickly identify domains and IP addresses, Team Mongoose was able to help proactively track attackers.
Since H4D, Frances interned at the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative and served as a Virtual Student Federal Service intern sponsored by the State Department, where she supported both technical and policy efforts regarding cyber security and transparency. As a senior, she is looking to the future and thinking about possible career paths at the intersection of technology and national security.
Interview
Q: How did you decide that you wanted a career in government?
A: “H4D was very influential in developing my career interests. I came to Stanford as a pre-med student, but when I took my first chemistry class, I realized that it wasn’t for me. From a young age, my family taught me the importance of public service, but I didn’t know where my place would be in public service. After my first CS class at Stanford, I started to really enjoy my technical courses, and I eventually found my way to the Symbolic Systems department, which provides the perfect balance of technical computer science courses and other disciplines such as psychology and linguistics. With a desire to serve the greater good, Hacking 4 Defense solidified my interest in the intersection of technology and national security, with a focus on cyber security and its importance to our government.”
Q: What value do you feel you got from taking this course?
A: “Through the completion of over 100 interviews in H4D, I was able to meet so many incredible individuals in our problem area, from government to private industry to academia. For some subject matter experts, we were able to have multiple interviews throughout the project and develop relationships with them. Through these connections, I was able to learn more about various fields and consider post-grad opportunities. I am grateful that I have kept in touch with members of the teaching team, my problem sponsors, and various interviewees, as we built a relationship around my H4D problem, and now I continue to receive career advice and encouragement.”
Q: As an undergraduate student, how was your experience working with graduate students?
A: “As the only undergraduate on a team of graduate students, at first I was slightly intimidated. However, the teaching team requires teams who apply to be diverse across the schools, and it became clear that undergraduates are an asset to the teams because we have new perspectives and investigate what often gets skimmed over by graduate students who may already have exposure to the problem or be intimidated by asking questions they think are too simple or basic. When I was attempting to tackle our problem, I was a fresh face in the world that I was diving into. I had no preconceived notions. There was so much to learn, but investing enough time and effort, we gained a lot of insight from each member of our team.”