Tasara quickly found a passion for helping others while studying the Certificate III in Information Technology. Her commitment opened the door to an incredible opportunity: joining CISCO’s Dream Team.  Now, she encourages other women to step confidently into the cyber field.

After 20 years in building design, a ransomware attack on her business pushed Tasara to rethink her future. Tasara realised how vulnerable business owners are. This sparked a desire to help others protect themselves.

She was browsing Chisholm’s website for her daughter when the cyber security courses caught her eye. The flexible workload made it possible to fit study around family and work, so she decided to give it a try.

Tasara was first introduced to CISCO qualifications through her coursework, where she discovered she loved the practical, hands‑on nature of cyber security. After completing a CISCO Ethical Hacker module, her teacher encouraged her to apply for the CISCO Dream Team and even wrote a recommendation to support her application.

The experience was unlike anything she had imagined. Over nine days at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, she helped set up more than 300 Wi‑Fi access points for a large‑scale CISCO event. This gave her behind‑the‑scenes exposure to how CISCO runs its own event‑grade wireless network. Tasara asked every question she could, learning directly from CISCO’s technical teams and absorbing as much knowledge as possible.

Through Chisholm’s Industry Advisory Group, Tasara also connected with local IT businesses, where she gained valuable industry insight and new community connections. To strengthen her skills and move closer to an industry role, she is now studying the Certificate IV in Cyber Security.

Her message to other women thinking about cyber? “Be a trailblazer. It seems scary, but it’s worth giving it a go. We need more women in this field. It’s the future.”