Yvette Gabrielian

Student Applies Cybersecurity Concentration Skills to Summer Job

Yvette Gabrielian
Yvette Gabrielian ’18

JD Evening student Yvette Gabrielian ’18 is spending her summer interning at Kroll, a corporate investigations and risk-consulting firm. Gabrielian is part of Loyola’s Technology Internship Program (TIP), which places technology-minded students into firms with a similar focus. The Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Law Concentration student is using her skills to develop a database analyzing cybersecurity regulations across the globe.

How did you land your summer job?

As a Cyber Security & Data Privacy Concentration student, I have taken cyber security-related courses, which made me competitive for positions with firms that handle technology matters. Additionally, Adjunct Professor Jason Smolanoff, who taught one of the required courses in the Concentration, is Senior Managing Director and Global Cyber Practice Leader at Kroll. He really connected with his students and helped us develop the skills necessary to obtain positions in the field.

How did the Career Development Office help you secure the position?

The Career Development Office was instrumental in helping me secure the position. As an evening student with a long history of professional experience prior to starting law school, I thought I knew exactly what career path I was going to take and did not expect I would need much help. However, as a long-time executive who had not done formal interviews for years, I lost essential interviewing skills. Associate Director Jolene Horn, my counselor, assisted me by helping me update my resume, conducting mock interviews and giving me valuable feedback. I believe that directly contributed to my success in my job search.

What is the most interesting part of your job?

The most interesting and exciting part of my job is being exposed to many different aspects of the cyber security and data privacy industry, from advising on their cybersecurity compliance needs to regulatory-breach notification requirements and all of the steps in-between.

What has been your most challenging assignment thus far?

My most challenging assignment thus far has been researching the cybersecurity laws of five countries as they relate to the financial services industry and creating a spreadsheet of their commonalities and differences. Even though all of the regulations are in English, reading and understanding laws from another country is not as easy and straightforward as you might imagine.  Recognizing what a statement of law is meant to cover and correlating it to its U.S. counterpart has been quite challenging.  

What new legal skill(s) have you acquired during your summer job?

I learned how to analyze and understand the specific meaning of a general statement in a piece of foreign legislation and compare it to U.S. laws to identify the similarities and differences.

How has your Loyola education helped you make a difference in your placement?

As one of only two law schools in the nation with a cybersecurity concentration, Loyola recruited top experts in the field as professors. Having industry experts in the classroom bridged the gap between theoretical and practical learning.  I feel I was taught the practical skills to be an effective and productive professional from Day One. These courses, coupled with the required legal courses, have placed me in a most advantageous position and made me marketable in this growing field.

What LLS courses have you found most helpful to your position? Please explain.

The courses that are helping me the most are Cybersecurity & Regulatory Compliance and Incident Response & Investigations. Additionally, my contract-related courses have prepared me to better assist in contract reviews.

In what additional ways has Loyola helped you map your career path?

Every Loyola professor and administrator I have encountered in the last three years has been very willing to assist me by answering questions, introducing me to their contacts, and giving advice regarding my career options. Having this network of strong and dedicated professionals has made me feel more certain that my decision to come to law school and change careers has been the right one.