Angelin Benny was at a friend’s birthday party when she slipped down the stairs and hurt her back. The steps were steep and slippery.
Pain in her lower back persisted for a week until she was urged by a friend to get it checked out by a doctor. That visit led to an unrelated and unexpected finding – questionable spots on her thyroid gland.
“I went and they scanned my entire back,” she said. “They were like, ‘There's nothing wrong with your back, but there's something on your thyroid. We see something that you should get checked out.”
What they saw were cell clusters on her thyroid gland.
She thought that was weird. Her bloodwork was fine, and so were her hormone levels. Her mother and sister, who are both in the medical field, urged her to get an exam to determine what the medical team saw.
Turns out, it was thyroid cancer.
Just put some ice on it
The medical exam for her back happened in October 2023 but the official cancer diagnosis didn’t come for another six months while she underwent tests, traveling frequently between Tampa and her home in Ft. Lauderdale.
Meanwhile, the pain continued.
“The worst part of it all was my back was still hurting,” she laughed. “They were like, I ‘just need put some ice on it.’”
“I was so shocked, because I feel like we all knew that was kind of what the diagnosis was going to be because from the scans,” she said. “I already had this idea and everything, but when I got the diagnosis that I have cancer, it was honestly so crazy to me because I guess I should have mentally prepared myself for this, but I didn't.”
She’s thankful the diagnosis was made early, even though the uncertainty and waiting made it a frustrating time.
Breaking with family tradition
Benny fell in love with USF early on when she would travel to see her sister, who is a 2016 graduate.
“When I was little, I would come to the campus a lot, see her, drop things off at her dorm,” she said. “I really liked the USF campus from a young age. So, when it was time for me to go to college, ‘I was like, I think I want to go to USF.’”
While she plans to graduate with a degree in cybersecurity, that wasn’t always her plan. Benny’s mother is a nurse. Her sister, a doctor. Her other sister, a medical researcher. She had other plans.
“Everyone was pre-med or pre-health in some sort of way,” she said. “Everyone wanted me to go into medical, or pharmacy, or something of that nature. But in high school, I was always interested in engineering.”
As a freshman, she chose civil engineering as her major.
“I really liked the drafting and everything about that. I was really interested in the hands-on aspect of civil engineering. But then I started learning a little bit more about like ethical hacking and the cybersecurity realm,” she said.
She eventually made the switch to cybersecurity, found her fit and plowed ahead. She joined clubs like USF’s chapter for Women in Cybersecurity, where she served as the social media manager and led the group’s digital engagement strategy, collaborated on messaging and supported the club’s outreach for resume labs, internship panels and hands-on cybersecurity sessions.
And although she wasn’t pursuing a career in the medical field, she joined the Friends of Médecins Sans Frontières, the USF chapter for Doctors Without Borders, where she now serves as the group’s president, works with the group’s executive board and oversees strategic planning.
“I never had an interest in anything medical,” she said. “I'm really happy I stuck with my gut, and I chose what I wanted. I know it's the right decision for me.”
Then came the back injury and a spiral of doctor appointments.
If someone else can do it, so can I
Looking back, Benny said she should have gone a little easier on herself following the diagnosis and subsequent recovery. She felt like she was behind and she knew a lot was ahead for her.
She wondered if she would need to take time off or retake a class.
“But I think I just kind of kept thinking, ‘If someone else has done it before me, I can do it. If someone else has gone through bigger life hurdles and challenges, I can also do it. I just need to remain true to myself.’”
Following her spring finals, doctors removed her thyroid in April 2024. Follow up tests showed promising results for the surrounding tissue being cancer free. Then came the recovery, which was more difficult than the treatment and surgery.
“I was still figuring out things during pivotal parts of the semester,” she said. “I can't say my grades and stuff were perfect during this time. This is the worst I was doing in school.”
Staying the course
Despite the challenges, Benny’s commitment to cybersecurity only deepened. Through hands-on shadowing programs, leadership roles in student organizations, and her selection as a Microsoft Student Ambassador, she became a visible contributor to USF’s growing AI and cybersecurity culture.
In that Microsoft program, students become tech leaders by helping USF department to adopt Microsoft tools to improve efficiency and productivity.
“For six weeks, they trained us on all of the tools, the capabilities that students and faculty have that we don't really know that we have,” she said. “Afterward, they assigned us each a department.”
Benny partnered with Riccardo Titanti to collaborate with USF’s University Communications and Marketing leadership to implement Microsoft 365 and Copilot workflows, build prompt libraries and lead training workshops. They also presented technical recommendations and adoption strategies to Microsoft’s leadership.
She is currently exploring ways to integrate AI into higher education and use the tools to improve employee collaboration and communication.
“I'm also working with Sarasota-Manatee campus, training the faculty, staff and students there on how to use Microsoft 365 tools, how to use Copilot and how to use the resources they have,” she added.
Benny also participated in two shadowing programs, one with USF Information Technology and another with CyberFlorida. She was able to observe real-world cybersecurity and IT operations, including incident response and risk management workflows. She gained hands-on experience with enterprise tools such as GreyMatter, Rapid7 and Security Information and Event Management platforms.
Not giving up
She credits a strong support system for helping her manage her way through. That includes her family, associate professors James Anderson and Roger Fang, along with Titanti.
Benny remembers breaking her news to her instructors, specifically Fang.
“He was so nice,” she remembers. “I told him, ‘I think I might have cancer. I'm not sure yet. And he just said, ‘Take your time, it's fine. You'll figure this out. Remember, your health is the most important thing.
“I always think about that because he was genuinely so nice,” she added.
As for her back, it’s much better now. But she still thinks about it.
“I’m grateful that I fell and found it. Even though I had to deal with something like this, it was the best possible outcome,” she said. “I am incredibly grateful for everything USF has given me, and I cannot wait to cross the stage in December and begin my career in cybersecurity!”