As Madeline Sides approached her graduation from Montreat College in December 2019, she was the only one among her closest friends who was not planning to pursue further education.
“Cybersecurity is one of those majors where you don’t have to have a million degrees to succeed,” she reassured herself. “Montreat set me up, and I was finished with school.”
Thanks to connections made at cyber events hosted on Montreat’s campus, Sides had already secured a job at Ally Financial before even starting her final semester. Yet, despite her practical reasoning, the former student-athlete—who competed in women’s cross country and track and field—didn’t anticipate just how much free time she would suddenly have, especially after the unexpected arrival of COVID.
“It was the first time I was not in school and not doing sports, so I became bored very quickly,” she admitted. “I strived to achieve the highest standard I could athletically, so why not go for that academically? I decided to get my master’s, but I didn’t tell my friends because I was supposed to be the only one who wasn’t going to grad school. In the end, of course, it set me up for a lot of success, but it was something that I began out of boredom.”
After obtaining her master’s degree in cybersecurity from Liberty University in 2020, she didn’t stop there. In 2023, Sides became the first cyber graduate from Montreat College to earn a Ph.D. in the field, completing her doctorate in computer science, cybersecurity, and information assurance from Colorado Technical University.
Never one to remain idle, she recently added yet another remarkable achievement to her growing resume as a Maritime Cyber Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves. For Sides, her commissioning was the fulfillment of a long-held dream inspired by her youth pastor, a former Marine who felt called to preach the gospel after surviving an IED explosion.
“His story was very inspiring, the sacrifice he gave for our country,” she reflected. “In high school, I wanted to join the military because I felt like that would be the most physical and mental place where I could push myself, but my mom told me I had to go to college first.”
While attending high school in Lincolnton, North Carolina, Sides had multiple scholarship offers as a standout track and cross country athlete. However, after undergoing surgery on both legs prior to her senior season, every college coach pulled away except for Montreat’s Coach Lewkowicz.
“He said, ‘We want you whether or not you can even walk again because I’m recruiting you first based on personality,’” she recalled. “That told me that Montreat is exactly where God wants me to be, even though it wasn’t originally first on my list.”
At Montreat, Sides found more than just an academic experience. She discovered a community that shaped her faith, character, and sense of purpose. Within a Christ-centered environment, she was surrounded by professors, mentors, and friends who genuinely cared about her spiritual and personal growth.
“You don’t really know much about yourself when you go to college,” she said. “It’s the first time on your own, and Montreat transformed me into who I was. They invested in my life and helped guide me. I grew up as a Christian in the church, but it wasn’t until I got to Montreat that I was really challenged because my faith was no longer tied to my parents. If I had gone to a public university, I think my life and some of the choices I made may have looked differently.”
Academically, Montreat College—designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency—equipped Sides to carve an impressive career in cybersecurity. In just five years at Ally, she quickly rose to a management role in cybersecurity compliance, specializing in identifying and mitigating cyber risks. Her team plays a critical role in safeguarding sensitive information, ensuring regulatory compliance, and making high-stakes decisions on escalating incidents to senior leadership.
“The best way I can sum it up is we’re trying to see around corners,” she explained. “We want to make sure that we are aware of everything that’s happening from an incident response perspective. Any issue that impacts confidentiality, availability, or integrity—the CIA triad—means my team would be engaged.”
Sides credits Montreat with preparing her to navigate the complex challenges of the cybersecurity field by combining technical expertise with a strong, ethical foundation.
“Because Montreat married cybersecurity, business, and ethics together, I knew what I was stepping into, especially from a leadership perspective,” she said. “It can be difficult to talk about ethics in a classroom setting, but once you see it in real-world scenarios, the classroom material starts clicking immediately. I’m grateful for Montreat.”
Beyond her professional and military commitments, Sides co-founded Phish Club, a cybersecurity mentorship community in Charlotte. As a new employee at Ally, Sides began having conversations among friends seeking guidance as a young professional. Feeling like outsiders in a space dominated by long-established relationships, they decided to create their own community. With encouragement from senior leadership, who emphasized the importance of networking and personal branding, those discussions led to the launching of Phish Club on a Discord server.
Now, what started as a casual idea has blossomed into a popular community of almost 800 members, offering a space for students, practitioners, professionals, and senior leaders to collaborate, support one another, and have fun at events like mini golf or go-karting.
“We are just trying to be a resource to provide what we wanted to know when we were starting,” said Sides. “Being on a Discord server sets us apart from a lot of the other organizations that are focused on cybersecurity. We’re a 24/7 networking community, so anybody can ask a question at any time, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a student, a practitioner, a senior leader, or you are somebody who just wants to know more about cyber.”
Since 2021, Sides has also given back to her alma mater as an adjunct professor in the cybersecurity department. Though she initially struggled with imposter syndrome, she quickly found her stride by bridging textbook knowledge with real-world applications.
“I wasn’t sure what value I could tell somebody, especially when I just came from that area,” she said, “but I was able to help where I struggled with learning, so it has been a unique opportunity for me.”
Now, as Sides embarks on her newest chapter as a Maritime Cyber Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves, she carries with her the discipline and time management skills she developed as a student-athlete at Montreat. While her commitment begins with one weekend a month and two weeks a year, she’s eager for the opportunities ahead. The rigorous process is just the beginning of what she hopes will be a long and meaningful career in service.
“I’m ready to go wherever they send me,” Sides said. “I’m going right back into that camaraderie that I miss from college of being around everybody in the dorms. I miss that lifestyle. If I’m being honest, I don’t miss the coursework, but I miss the community aspect, and I’m excited about it. As far as any long-term goals, I really just want to serve for 20 years and see how far I can climb the ranks.”
If her early track record in her career is any indication, it’s not a question of how far she’ll go, but simply how soon she’ll reach her goals.