First Blog

About Me:

My name is Zach McManigle, I am a 3^rd year student and Penn State majoring in Security and Risk Analysis with a focus in Social Risk Factor. I was born in El Paso, Texas and later moved to Emporium, Pennsylvania. In 2005 I graduated from Cameron County High School and immediately enlisted in the United States Navy. After four years of service I decided to take advantage of the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill and further my education at The Pennsylvania State University. Though my future is uncertain I hope build a career involving anti-terrorism, legal work, or physical security through the state or government.

My only real hobby is rifle hunting during antler and antlerless season, and I usually hunt black bear during the University’s winter break as well. I enjoy traveling around the county, and when possible, around the world. The past few years I’ve toured South Africa, England, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. I’ve also traveled to, or through, about half of the lower forty-eight. In the future I plan on traveling to Washington State and possibly Alaska. As far as sports; I am a Steelers, Bucs, and Pens fan. I like to go to Buc’s games as much as possible, and would like to see the Pens in the new Energy Consol Center this winter.  

Connection to Crisis Informatics:

I am currently Majoring in Security and Risk Analysis with a focus on Social Risk Factor.  The major is based on studies involving securing systems, measuring risks, and securing technologies for users and businesses. I chose to focus on the Social Risk Factor to avoid the cyber aspects of the program and hopefully focus studies on the physical side of Security and Risk Analysis.  I’m not exactly sure how this decision will impact my future, but maybe Crisis Informatics will point me in the right direction.

The e-mail I received about SRA 397A Crisis Informatics grabbed my attention and interested me enough to enroll in the course. Crisis and how people react has always interested me, especially natural disasters. Other than a few tropical storms I have never experienced a natural disaster, which is why I am interested in learning about the impact of disasters. I am all about studying the technologies that warn people about a crisis or provide faster more efficient help to impacted victims.

I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect from this course but after the first class I am glad I enrolled in SRA 397. The discussions on the first day were interesting and held my attention. Above that, the guest speakers sound pretty serious and like they will provide a significant amount of usual information for the class.

Overall, the course seems to be interesting. Much of the information discussed in the first day of class interested me. Hopefully someday I will be able use the information taught in this class. If not, I’m sure this course would look good on a resume. I am glad I scheduled this course; everything from the course details to the guest speakers’ interest me.