Peculiar Professor

Walking into a classroom that is octagon shaped that has about 25 students and seeing only 2 girls can be a bit nerve racking for someone who doesn't know anything going into the field. On top of that, a professor that has many tattoos, a flannel, jeans, and a baseball cap with a military patch on it is teaching the class. 

The professor's first words to start class are said with as much sarcasm as you can ever dream of, "There is something bad for you, but good for me." he exclaims walking to the left side of the classroom and resting his smiling face on his hand. Most of the students groan and some even make quiet comments

"What does he mean by that?" whispers a boy.

One answers, "I'm not sure, but it must be bad!"

He never does clearly state what the bad news is, so most students pay as much attention to class as they can to figure out what is in store for them.

    This is how Dr. Snyder, a Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity Professor, grabs students' attention and helps them learn with hands on material. The official definition of Digital Forensics is as follows: "Digital forensics is the process of retrieving, storing, analyzing and preserving electronic data that could be useful in an investigation. This includes information from computers hard drives, mobile phone, smart appliances, vehicle navigation systems, electronic door locks and other digital devices. The goal of the process is to gather, analyze and preserve evidence." (techopedia.com)

    Dr. Snyder himself didn't start out as a professor at all and certainly not in digital forensics and cybersecurity field. Upon graduating high school, Dr. Snyder quickly realized that college was not for him, but decided to enroll in the police academy as an alternative. A few years later he decided to list in the Army and served our country for about 10 years. "I was 25 or 26 whenever I went back to school. In high school I guess you could say I wasn't necessarily a good student and didn't think college was for me. And then whenever I went back as an adult, I truly found that I liked it." He then completed his bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity and started looking for work opportunities within the field.

  
 Dr. Snyder began his teaching career at a community college in upstate New York in 2004. He then ended up as the department chair division directory which included digital forensics, cybersecurity and computer science. Missing the feeling of teaching, he created a program at a private institution in Massachusetts where he taught for 5 years. He then landed in Bloomsburg as a professor in 2018 and has been instructing here for 5th year. Being a professor and holding so many jobs brings some interesting stories, but it's the connections Dr. Snyder has made that genuinely shape his career.

    "I really enjoy seeing kids graduate. I try to get to graduation ceremonies because its interesting to see them. How they grow, how they change, you know one of the things I like to do at the beginning of each semester is look at the pictures they put on their student accounts and look at them and see how they are different." He also commented with a smile, "...last years spring graduation, was the first group of students I had for 4 years and that was really nice to see them and honestly you think, 'Maybe there not going to make it.' But the ones that make it are great. I still have students from when I was teaching in 2004 that reach out to me what they are doing and its nice to see." Having that lasting impact on some of his previous students is amazing and keeping in contact can be the most rewarding thing about being a professor.

Dr. Snyder's Tattoo that 
his daughter gave him

Considering he works with computers everyday, he tries to keep his screen time to a minimum outside of work. "I don't like spending a lot of time on the computer when I'm not at work or a lot of technology things. I read a lot but I'm pretty big on being outdoors. I do a lot of tent camping and remote camping is big for me and just anything that doesn't have to do with work." Along with being out doors being interested in a technology based profession, he also has many tattoos that are peculiar. "I have a lot of tattoos that have to do with my time in the service. Then this one, is one my daughter actually did. She is learning to be a tattoo artist and it was nice to do." 

Reflecting on his daughter practicing tattoos makes you wonder what you want to accomplish in your life. For some people, its being a billionaire. Others, its just to make an impact. Dr. Snyder, "I just hope to make a big enough impact or an impact on enough people's lives that you actually change something so we'll see. You see a lot of students so hopefully one of you guys do something and I can say, 'I knew her when/I knew him when.'" 

The bad news in the beginning? It was that there work was going to be erased so they can learn how to make a case by themselves. A case is a way that digital forensic majors store their information. Dr. Snyder is just one of the many professors here at Bloomsburg University that loves to see students thrive and learn new things. Seeing these lasting effects is quite simple with his many connections to students on social media platforms. If you would like to learn more about Dr. Snyder and how much of an impact he has had on students, visit his LinkedIn page.