BioBuzz’s Buzzin’ Brood Student Spotlight series celebrates the next generation of life sciences talent — and the programs, institutions, and organizations investing in them. Name: Emmelyne Diep Hometown: Clarksburg, MD Institution: University of Maryland, College Park (College Park, MD) Role: Student Ambassador, BioBuzz Networks (Summer 2026) By the time she started high school, Emmelyne Diep was already troubleshooting real infrastructure in a college cybersecurity lab — the kind of experience most students don’t get until their first internship. Through Montgomery College’s dual-enrollment program, she earned her Associate of Applied Science in Cybersecurity while working hands-on as a student assistant in the college’s Cyberlab. Now an Information Science student at the University of Maryland (Class of 2027), Emmelyne is balancing Treasurer roles for Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) and InfoSci Fi, as well as serving as Data Archivist for the UMD Coffee Club. This fall she’s joining the UMD Fellows Program, pairing her technical background with public service leadership training. This summer, she’s expanding her curiosity in the life sciences as a Student Ambassador within BioBuzz’s BioCatalyst program, made possible through TEDCO’s Equitech Growth Fund. We sat down with Emmelyne to talk about her path into cybersecurity, what’s exciting her right now, and where she sees herself headed next. How did you get here? My journey into tech and data started early in high school, where I immersed myself in the dual-enrollment program at Montgomery College. Through that program, I earned my Associate of Applied Science in Cybersecurity while working as a student assistant at Montgomery College’s Cyberlab — troubleshooting technical infrastructure hands-on. That experience solidified my passion for computing, data structuring, and ethical security frameworks. I’m motivated to connect technical frameworks with human-centric systems, which is why I chose to pursue my Bachelor’s in Information Science at the University of Maryland,