Yasine Bensouda

Yasine Bensouda, graduating senior in Cybersecurity Management and Analytics (BIT-Cyber) for the Business Information Technology Department at Pamplin College of Business, has been awarded the 2023 Pamplin Service Award for his service and leadership roles in Pamplin College of Business Programs.

Bensouda holds leadership roles with several student organizations and committees at Pamplin College of Business, including serving as co-president for the Dean’s Advisory Board of Students (DABS), logistics chair for the Pamplin Multicultural Diversity Council, and corporate relations chair for Virginia Tech AI/ML. He is also a member of the Pamplin Ambassadors Program and the Business Horizons Committee’s Marketing Committee.

Along with serving in many student organizations, Bensouda serves students as a mentor in the Pamplin Undergraduate Mentorship Program (PUMP). Through PUMP, he supports incoming students with their transition into and throughout college. Bensouda has also taken advantage of career opportunities during his time as an undergraduate by working internships at FORVIS, Emile Learning, and Clark Construction.

Additionally, Bensouda has excelled academically, maintaining a 4.0 GPA while pursuing a dual degree in Cybersecurity Management & Analytics and Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Technology. Additionally, he served as an undergraduate teaching assistant and completed undergraduate research in which he worked with Business Information Technology faculty member Tabitha James on the research, “Emotion and Information Disclosure on Social Media,” which was published and presented at the Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) conference in 2021.

“I would love to thank and mention the amazing mentors and faculty that have played a tremendous role in my success at Virginia Tech,” said Bensouda. “I would like to give a special mention to Dean Lara Khansa, Dr. Tabitha James, Dr. Amanda Armstrong, Dr. Idris Adjerid, Dr. Schuler Scott, and Emily McCorkle. I would not have been able to accomplish anything without them.”

After graduation, Bensouda will work as a cybersecurity and privacy associate at Grant Thornton.

- Written by Shea Walters