Tyrek Long spends his time in two different worlds. 

Long is an integrated information technology student at the University of South Carolina Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing. He is also a sergeant in the Army National Guard, responsible for maintaining the secure communications systems soldiers depend on. 

For Long, military service and college are not competing priorities – they are two halves of the same education. The leadership, discipline and technical expertise he develops in one role makes him stronger in the other.

Whether he is troubleshooting communications systems, developing artificial intelligence projects or strengthening web security, Long is driven by a curiosity to understand how technology works and push its possibilities further.

“I've always loved computers,” Long says. “I used to build gaming computers and work on laptops and servers when I was younger.” 

That curiosity led him to enlist in the Army National Guard during his senior year of high school in 2023 as a satellite communications systems operator-maintainer. The role introduced him to secure communications, networking and cybersecurity while teaching him how to operate, maintain and troubleshoot military satellite communications systems. 

Last November, Long was promoted to sergeant, a milestone he says strengthened his leadership skills. 

“It's something I'm really proud of,” Long says. “It came with expanded leadership responsibilities that have carried over into school, my career and daily life.” 

His military experience also helped him earn several industry-recognized cybersecurity and networking certifications before and during college. 

“The military has definitely helped me since it requires discipline, time management and trying to be the best I can be,” Long says. 

Finding support at USC 

When Long began researching colleges, USC stood out for both its technology programs and its support for military-affiliated students. He enrolled in fall 2024 and quickly found professors who understood the realities of balancing military service with academics.

“During this year’s snowstorms, I let all of my professors know that I had to respond with the military,” Long says. “They were very helpful and accommodating." 

His military experience has also given him a head start in the classroom.

“What I have learned in the military makes some of these classes, such as my networking or computer security classes, easier because I've learned the baseline from my training or certifications,” Long says. 

Applying technology beyond the classroom 

This summer, Long is working as a business technology analyst intern at Dominion Energy, helping develop an AI-powered hiring assistant. He also recently worked as an AI data contributor for Snorkel AI before applying those skills at GridstormHACKS! 2026, where his team developed an AI-powered system that automatically organizes information from utility pole identification tags using optical character recognition, computer vision and machine learning.

“A lot of the time was spent learning,” Long says. “I’d never used OpenCV, barely knew what OCR was and had never trained an AI model with images before.”

Long has also contributed to web security and web design projects for Nanny Driver, broadening his experience across multiple areas of technology. To him, networking cybersecurity, AI and web design are all interconnected disciplines that work together to build secure, effective systems. 

That eagerness to learn is what longtime friend and computer science student Dave Ringler admires most.

“He’s always picking up another startup project and spending every break earning certifications,” Ringler says. “After he succeeds, he is happy to sit down for hours to help you achieve your goal as well.”

Although Long hasn’t settled on a specific career path, he knows it will be in technology, continuing to build on the leadership and technical foundation he’s developed through both military service and his education at USC. 

“I am glad Tyrek is gaining recognition,” Ringler says. “He is a driven and curious person who is always learning and growing.”