From Bellevue to Baghdad
Bellevue University grad helps secure Iraq
Robert Wickham has had a quiet night thus far. "No shells have come in tonight", said over his Skype phone. Wickham, an advisor to the Iraqi government's Ministry of the Interior at the time, lived across the street from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. "There aren't very many outright attacks anymore, but when the U.S. government does something unpopular, a few rounds come in. Most of the security concerns now are caused by subversive groups."
Wickham, who earned his master's degree in Bellevue University's Security Management program, is primarily concerned with those groups. In his current position, Wickham develops and proposes security-related projects for the government of Iraq. "The security projects I develop are IT related and deal with collecting, storing, and deciding what to do with data from a security standpoint. "Recently he developed a security identification program for government employees which involved capturing each employee's biometric information (fingerprinting, iris scanning, etc.) and encoding that information into government identification cards equipped with smartchip technology. These ID cards are used by employees at borders, security checkpoints, and other entry points. Wickham credits his experience with and degrees from Bellevue as being keys to his success. "Having the master's degree in my credentials helped significantly. My security management knowledge along with my background in business and information technology made me an ideal candidate."
Wickham earned his bachelor's in global business management through Bellevue's in-class accelerated program, and completed his Master's in Security Management online. "My Bellevue experience was outstanding. Everyone I came into contact with, student and faculty was always positive and uplifting," said Wickham. "I stay in touch with some of my former classmates, and I recommend Bellevue to people all the time."
The skills and knowledge Wickham developed at Bellevue University are critical to his success. When asked what the most important thing he learned at Bellevue was, Wickham responded, "It gave me a better skill set for research. My increased propensity for research and the creative analytical thinking I cultivated at Bellevue help me to look at complicated problems differently and find effective solutions. The online forum at Bellevue also helped my writing skills, as it pushed me to express myself in a polished manner to my peers."
Wickham has recently moved back stateside. He is the senior project manager representing the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation on a large three year project called Kansas Eligibility Enrollment System.
