{"id":208879,"date":"2026-05-04T08:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T12:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/04\/commencement-right-on-cue-for-utc-cybersecurity-graduate-noah-dillon\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T06:50:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T10:50:21","slug":"commencement-right-on-cue-for-utc-cybersecurity-graduate-noah-dillon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/04\/commencement-right-on-cue-for-utc-cybersecurity-graduate-noah-dillon\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement right on cue for UTC cybersecurity graduate Noah Dillon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commencement right on cue for UTC cybersecurity graduate Noah Dillon<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/commencement-right-on-cue-for-utc-cybersecurity-graduate-noah-dillon\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-05-04 08:41:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: blog.utc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. On May 9, Noah Dillon will receive his master\u2019s degree in computer science with a concentration in cybersecurity from UTC. Photo by Angela Foster.
\nNoah Dillon\u2019s commencement weekend will not end after he crosses the McKenzie Arena stage. It will just be getting started.
\nOn Saturday, May 9, he will receive his master\u2019s degree in computer science with a concentration in cybersecurity from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. A short time later, still in cap and gown, he will join the Chamber Singers\u2014a select vocal ensemble\u2014to perform the alma mater as part of the ceremony\u2019s conclusion.
\nThe following day, Dillon and the Chamber Singers will board a flight to Ireland, beginning an international tour that blends music, history and culture.
\nThat kind of quick turnaround is familiar to Dillon. When he completed his bachelor\u2019s degree in computer science at UTC in May 2024, he began a NASA internship just two days later. Now, as he prepares to graduate again, the transition is just as immediate.
\n\u201cI graduate and then I\u2019m on a plane to the other side of the world,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve worked very hard to get to this point. This semester has been pretty busy, but I\u2019m enjoying it because there are so many good things happening.\u201d
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\nClick here for more UTC Commencement 2026 stories
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\nThe Mount Juliet, Tennessee, native has been part of the Chamber Singers since his freshman year. Since then, he has spent countless hours balancing performances, travel and rehearsals alongside his rigorous academic path in computer science.
\n\u201cChoir was a very good place to be,\u201d Dillon said. \u201cI think everybody who\u2019s doing something you wouldn\u2019t necessarily consider a creative field \u2026 having that outlet is a really good place.\u201d
\nUC Foundation Professor of Music Kevin Ford, who leads the Chamber Singers, said Dillon\u2019s dedication to the ensemble has remained consistent throughout his time at UTC.
\n\u201cNoah has been a unique student who has made singing a priority in his life,\u201d Ford said. \u201cHe came to the group in 2021 and has continued in it through undergraduate into graduate school. Some semesters, he commuted to campus just to make the choral rehearsals since much of his work could be done remotely.\u201d
\nThat same discipline has defined his work in UTC\u2019s cybersecurity program.
\nAs an undergraduate, Dillon was selected for the competitive CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program, which prepares students for careers in federal service. He also completed two internships with NASA\u2019s Office of Inspector General, contributing to a major effort to modernize a tool used to detect fraud, waste and abuse in government grants and contracts.
\n\u201cIt has been one of the most incredible things I\u2019ve done in my life,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve learned how a large corporation operates, how the government works and how to manage time on a huge scale.\u201d
\nHis work earned recognition within the agency and reinforced the path he set for himself after attending a GenCyber summer camp in high school.
\n\u201cNoah Dillon always impresses me as a curious, determined and service-minded leader who brings together technical excellence, teamwork, creativity, humility and a deep sense of purpose,\u201d said Professor Mengjun Xie, head of the UTC Department of Computer Science and Engineering. \u201cHe is an outstanding representative of the kind of students UTC\u2019s Scholarship for Service program has produced and will continue to produce.
\n\u201cI am highly confident that he will build a bright career, distinguish himself in public service and make significant contributions to the agencies he serves.\u201d
\nThat path, Dillon said, began to take shape when he committed to the CyberCorps program and secured his first internship.
\n\u201cWhen I got the scholarship, that was the moment where I thought, \u2018OK, every bit of work that I\u2019ve done has paid off,\u2019\u201d Dillon said. \u201cThen getting the internship a few months later just pushed me even more.\u201d
\nSince then, he has taken on leadership roles, including mentoring younger students through cybersecurity competitions and campus organizations.
\n\u201cI started extremely shy,\u201d he said. \u201cI was nervous going into work or classes. Now I\u2019m standing in front of a room giving presentations or leading meetings. I\u2019ve grown so much through the people I\u2019ve met here.\u201d
\nThat growth is something he now encourages in others.
\n\u201cJust be curious,\u201d he tells them. \u201cDon\u2019t stop asking questions. If you stop asking questions, you\u2019re not going to learn anything.\u201d
\nNoah Dillon was honored at the Outstanding Graduate Student Awards Ceremony in April as the outstanding student in the Master of Science: Computer Science: Cyber Security program. Photo by Dixie Edmondson.
\nDillon has extensive travel experience, including a previous Chamber Singers tour through Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.
\nIreland will add another destination\u2014one he committed to immediately.
\n\u201cI love traveling,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I heard Ireland, I was like, \u2018OK, I\u2019m going to go.\u2019 There was no doubt about it.
\n\u201cI love going places and meeting new people, seeing what things are, eating the food, being very involved in trying to learn as much about the culture as possible.\u201d
\nThe Ireland trip will include family as well as his fellow singers. Dillon\u2019s twin sister, Izzy\u2014a December 2025 UTC graduate with a bachelor\u2019s degree in criminal justice\u2014will be there, too, joining him for the experience.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re both very excited,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is her first time traveling to Ireland, too, so I think it will be nice to be getting to share that experience.\u201d
\nThe Ireland itinerary includes three major performance sites across the country.
\nIn Galway, the Chamber Singers will perform at St. Nicholas\u2019 Collegiate Church, a medieval church founded in the 12th century. In Limerick, the ensemble will present a full evening concert at St. Mary\u2019s Cathedral. In Dublin, the group will sing at Christ Church Cathedral, the city\u2019s oldest church and a landmark that predates nearby St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral by roughly half a century.
\nThe performance sites themselves are of particular interest to Dillon, with the Chamber Singers set to perform in historic spaces shaped by stone, weather and design.
\n\u201cMost are made of stone,\u201d he explained. \u201cAll of that affects how you sing and how it sounds. I\u2019m really excited to see what it\u2019s like for us to stand there and sing and hear the actual reflections of our voices back off the stone.\u201d
\nCalling himself an analytical thinker, Dillon approaches those spaces with a different lens.
\n\u201cYou can see what people were thinking when they built something,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s literally written in the stone.
\n\u201cYou can learn a lot just by how things are put on the walls, how the pews are situated \u2026 what\u2019s the centerpiece of the space. I\u2019m really excited to see them.\u201d
\nLearn more
\nUTC College of Engineering and Computer Science
\nDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering
\nChamber Singers
\nVisit UTC
\nHow to apply<\/p>\n

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