The Path She Never Planned

If you had asked Lakan Sheets when she arrived at Marshall University what career she would one day pursue, cybersecurity would have been the last answer on her list.

Lakan came to Marshall from Bluefield, West Virginia, planning to build a future in healthcare. Instead, she found something she never expected — and a career she now can’t imagine life without.

Today, Lakan serves as assistant director of operations for Marshall University’s Institute for Cyber Security, where she mentors students and teaches as an adjunct instructor while pursuing a doctorate in healthcare cybersecurity. Looking back, though, she says none of it followed the plan she originally imagined.

As a first-generation college student, she was reminded of those lessons often. Her father, brother and grandfather worked in the coal mines. Her other grandfather worked on the railroad. The women in her family built a home that shaped her through quiet sacrifice, resilience and unwavering support.

Long before she ever arrived in Huntington, Marshall had already found a place in her heart. In the fall of eighth grade, Lakan’s teacher showed her class We Are Marshall. Learning about the university’s history and the strength of the Marshall community planted a dream she carried for years.

“I remember sitting there thinking, ‘I want to be part of something like that,'” she said. “Not just the school itself, but the community behind it.”

Lakan had the opportunity to stay close to home on a full scholarship while continuing competitive cheerleading, but she chose Marshall instead.

“It scared me,” she said. “But something in me knew Marshall was where I was supposed to be.”

This decision became the first of many moments where stepping outside her comfort zone would change the course of her life.

Like many students, Lakan’s journey wasn’t a straight line.

She started as a biology major with plans for medical school before changing to communication disorders. Then the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted classes and changed the college experience almost overnight.

When she wasn’t accepted into the upper-level communication disorders program, she questioned everything she had been working toward. She briefly considered nursing before changing directions again. Lakan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in health sciences still unsure of what she wanted to do.

Watching many of her friends graduate and begin careers before she did wasn’t easy.

After graduation, Lakan took some time to figure out what came next. Working three jobs, she planned to apply to graduate school for public health.

Then, during a shift at a local restaurant, a conversation with a customer over a Marshall crewneck changed everything. The Marshall professor who was wearing the sweatshirt introduced himself and asked a simple question — had she ever considered cybersecurity?

“No,” She laughed. “That has actually never crossed my mind.”

Still, the conversation stayed with her.

Eventually, she applied and made herself a promise: If she got accepted into Marshall’s graduate program in cyber forensics and security, she would take the leap.

Lakan was accepted into the program. Within weeks, she found herself stepping into an entirely new field as both a graduate student and graduate assistant.

At first, she felt completely out of place. Technical jargon sounded like another language, and many evenings were spent teaching herself these concepts long after class had ended.

But instead of letting that intimidate her, she discovered something that continues to guide her today.

As Lakan immersed herself in cybersecurity, something unexpected happened. She realized she hadn’t left healthcare behind at all.

Instead, she had found another way to serve it.

Cybersecurity professionals protect the systems hospitals rely on every day, keeping patient information secure and critical technologies operating when lives depend on them. For Lakan, that realization brought her full circle.

“It made me think about the work my family has done for generations,” she said. “The difficult, often unseen jobs that helped keep everything going for everyone else. In a very different way, I realized I found my own version of that kind of work.”

Today, Lakan helps students discover opportunities they may never have imagined for themselves, just as someone once did for her. She encourages them to ask questions, seek mentors and embrace the uncertainty that often comes with growth.

Her biggest piece of advice is one she learned through experience.

Sometimes the path you’re meant to follow isn’t the one you planned for yourself.

For Lakan, it started with believing she belonged at Marshall. It continued with saying yes to a conversation she almost laughed off.

And it led her to a future she never saw coming.