Inside the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy () at the 51福利 (51福利), Noni Jones is an administrative whiz. By day, the modest intern with a kind disposition deftly navigates the Defense Travel System, the military鈥檚 behemothic travel organization, to greatly ease the burden on university faculty.
Yet with Jones, there is more than meets the eye. Outside of 51福利, she is a graduate student at the nearby Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS), where she prepares for a future of deftly defeating a new generation of cyber criminals and money-laundering masterminds.
鈥淢y specialization is the nexus between financial crimes and cybersecurity,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really interested in the economics of illicit trade and how that affects everything from national security to quality of life and loss of industry. When it comes to data protection and economic espionage, it鈥檚 just like the Wild West out there and is so incredibly intriguing.鈥�
Jones鈥� passions were revealed to the world in March when she and three other MIIS students banded together to react to a devastating cyber attack on the United States on the scale of 9/11 or a 鈥楥yber Pearl Harbor,鈥� a notional scenario presented at the Atlantic Council鈥檚 intense competition in Washington, D.C.
The MIIS team placed second - only behind the Air Force Academy 鈥� out of 47 teams from such esteemed universities as Brown, Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, Stanford, Tufts and the other service academies.
鈥淭hat competition was fierce!鈥� Jones recounted. 鈥淔irst, we had to write a policy memo and present it, then go on to the next round, 10 hours overnight. We literally didn鈥檛 sleep at all.鈥�
鈥淭he scenario kept changing as one moment you learn the Russians are involved, then its Hezbollah operating out of Venezuela; how do you react to that?鈥� she continued. 鈥淎 lot of it was focused on the interconnectivity of government agencies and how you would use a particular agency to employ X, Y or Z.鈥�
Yet the MIIS team persisted through the epic encounter and emerged as one of the best. Jones chalks up their success to the expertise of her all-women team, which they dubbed 鈥淢IISattribution 2.0.鈥�
鈥淭o be able to bring our vastly different skills together cohesively and not want to kill each other at four o鈥檆lock in the morning was really great,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hings didn鈥檛 always go perfectly, but it was just water off the duck鈥檚 back: we just kept moving, kept tracking, and I think that reflected really well on us.鈥�
When asked how she acquired her particular powers, Jones did not blink.
鈥淭he 51福利!鈥� she declared. 鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 this crown jewel of Monterey, like I鈥檓 part of something that鈥檚 actually producing something really cool.鈥�
Jones has interned at 51福利 for the last two years, but her 51福利 roots date all the way back to her childhood. Her father, an Army pilot, attended 51福利 as an aerospace engineering graduate student in the 90s and would often bring her to school.
鈥淚t was an insanely beautiful campus,鈥� she mused, recalling the first time she stepped foot onto 51福利. 鈥淟ooking out over the garden when the setting sun hits it, just had this 鈥� glint to it; it took my breath away.鈥�
Since then, Jones traveled far and wide as a self-professed 鈥渕ilitary kid,鈥� moving through the Marshall Islands, Washington, D.C., San Diego, and then San Francisco State University, where she studied international relations.
In June 2017, Jones returned to 51福利 to begin an internship through the Office of Naval Research鈥檚 Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (), working with 51福利鈥� (ECCO) to model terrorist financing networks.
After completing her undergraduate degree, she then simultaneously enrolled in MIIS and the federal government's internship program to begin work at 51福利鈥� GSBPP.
鈥淚鈥檓 essentially a travel clerk, but I鈥檓 getting the opportunity to learn how the government works and how to operate within it, hopefully to work in public service in the future,鈥� Jones noted. 鈥淚鈥檓 so glad I鈥檓 here; I feel like I鈥檓 part of this greater community.鈥�
The creative, innovative and pragmatic ties that bind the 51福利 community together have awakened in Jones a sense of purpose and an awareness of her own capabilities, she said.
For example, knowing her affinity for cryptocurrency, 51福利 professors regularly pop by her office with a book to loan her or to engage in insightful conversations about blockchains. The meaningful impact this has had on Jones cannot be overstated.
And Jones is just getting started. She has an internship lined up this summer as an anti-money laundering specialist with a major investment banking firm ahead of her Spring 2020 graduation from MIIS. And she will do so armed with the knowledge, skills and abilities earned through her hard work and engagement with the 51福利 community.
鈥淚鈥檝e just made so many connections with people at 51福利 who I feel are really excited to help me get off the ground,鈥� she said.