{"id":50024,"date":"2025-07-16T14:49:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T18:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/?p=50024"},"modified":"2025-11-10T16:00:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T21:00:13","slug":"flying-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/","title":{"rendered":"Flying High"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a teenager growing up around Frederick, Maryland, Becky Selzer, Engr \u201915 (MS), got hooked on spy shows like Alias and devoured cybercrime books like The Cuckoo\u2019s Egg. \u201cI was always drawn to high-stakes missions,\u201d she laughs. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

That intrigue led her to an internship at age 17 through a gifted and talented program\u2014unknowingly setting her on a path toward cybersecurity. \u201cHonestly, I didn\u2019t even know what computer science was back then,\u201d Selzer says. \u201cBut I liked math, I liked solving puzzles\u2014and it turned out I was pretty good at this.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Selzer serves as senior principal architect for IT at United Airlines, where she helps advise the technology organization on cybersecurity strategy across the company\u2019s sprawling digital operations. \u201cIt\u2019s analyzing data, helping people understand how to prioritize different cybersecurity risks, and finding the best ways to make our systems more secure,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s analyzing data, helping people understand how to prioritize different cybersecurity risks, and finding the best ways to make our systems more secure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Becky Selzer<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Selzer joined United more than a decade ago, following early work in the U.S. intelligence community that began with her teenage internships. Her first year at United was a banner one: She helped start the company\u2019s public vulnerability disclosure program and helped steer a high-profile internal investigation effort. That performance earned her a United 100 award, the airline\u2019s top employee honor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, Selzer managed areas including application security and vulnerability management and started the aviation cybersecurity and threat intelligence programs at United. During the pandemic, as the airline made major cuts, Selzer stepped up to support multiple cybersecurity teams simultaneously. \u201cWe were in survival mode, just trying to keep the lights on,\u201d she recalls. She was then selected as chief of staff for United\u2019s chief digital officer, supporting the technology organization\u2019s strategic efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While working full time, Selzer earned her master\u2019s in computer science in 2015 through Johns Hopkins\u2019 Engineering for Professionals<\/a> program. One class in particular\u2014a deep dive into federal cybersecurity standards\u2014turned out to be unexpectedly useful for her work. \u201cWriting a 70-page paper on NIST standards was certainly challenging for me,\u201d she says, \u201cbut I was surprised to learn how valuable that knowledge has been in my career.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selzer has championed women in tech and development programs for the next generation throughout her career. She recently wrapped up a term as chief of staff for United\u2019s Women in Technology group and previously helped shape programs for interns, apprentices, and early-career hires. She also volunteers with cybersecurity conferences including Hak4Kidz and the Chicago-based Blue Team Con, where she focuses on expanding access for students and nonprofits. \u201cI want fewer girls to be in the situation I was at 16, not even knowing computer science was an option,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u2014 KATIE PEARCE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

illustration by Joe Kimmel<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Becky Selzer, Engr \u201915 (MS) is the senior principal architect for IT at United Airlines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":50165,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"issue":[42],"class_list":["post-50024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-changemakers","issue-spring-2025"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFlying High - Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Flying High - Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Becky Selzer, Engr \u201915 (MS) is the senior principal architect for IT at United Airlines.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-16T18:49:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-10T21:00:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/selzer_final_bw-social.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/selzer_final_bw-social.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Wiznitzer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dan Wiznitzer\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8fea0e9d76ea4fd7f190559580c45e41\"},\"headline\":\"Flying High\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-16T18:49:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-10T21:00:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":486,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/selzer_final_bw.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Changemakers: Enterprising Alumni\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/\",\"name\":\"Flying High - Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/selzer_final_bw.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-16T18:49:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-10T21:00:13+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/selzer_final_bw.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/selzer_final_bw.jpg\",\"width\":958,\"height\":1200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/changemakers\\\/flying-high\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Flying High\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/\",\"name\":\"Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Spring2026_logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Spring2026_logo.jpg\",\"width\":820,\"height\":694,\"caption\":\"Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8fea0e9d76ea4fd7f190559580c45e41\",\"name\":\"Dan Wiznitzer\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/author\\\/dwiznit1\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Flying High - Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Flying High - Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine","og_description":"Becky Selzer, Engr \u201915 (MS) is the senior principal architect for IT at United Airlines.","og_url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/","og_site_name":"Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine","article_published_time":"2025-07-16T18:49:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-10T21:00:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/selzer_final_bw-social.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/selzer_final_bw-social.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Wiznitzer","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/"},"author":{"name":"Dan Wiznitzer","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/8fea0e9d76ea4fd7f190559580c45e41"},"headline":"Flying High","datePublished":"2025-07-16T18:49:36+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-10T21:00:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/"},"wordCount":486,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/selzer_final_bw.jpg","articleSection":["Changemakers: Enterprising Alumni"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/","name":"Flying High - Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/selzer_final_bw.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-16T18:49:36+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-10T21:00:13+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/selzer_final_bw.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/selzer_final_bw.jpg","width":958,"height":1200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/flying-high\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Flying High"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/","name":"Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/#organization","name":"Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Spring2026_logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Spring2026_logo.jpg","width":820,"height":694,"caption":"Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/8fea0e9d76ea4fd7f190559580c45e41","name":"Dan Wiznitzer","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/author\/dwiznit1\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50024"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55439,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50024\/revisions\/55439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50024"},{"taxonomy":"issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue?post=50024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}