Hi, I'm John Barr
Cloud Computing Student · AWS & Azure Certified · AI Enthusiast
Passionate about cloud computing and AI with hands-on AWS projects in security architecture, CI/CD pipelines, and self-hosted infrastructure — and a strong hardware background ready for a professional cloud environment.
AWS Projects
Personal cloud projects showcasing security-focused infrastructure, CI/CD automation, CDN delivery, and self-hosted solutions on AWS.
Security-Focused Web Hosting with CI/CD with EC2, SSM, ALB, WAF
Hosts a web app on EC2 instances in a private subnet, fronted by an Application Load Balancer in the public subnet with WAF. A full CI/CD pipeline listens to GitHub repo changes through CodePipeline → CodeDeploy, updating tagged EC2 instances via AWS Systems Manager. NACL provides network-layer security. ASG will trigger CodePipeline on new EC2 Instances via SSM Documents
Security-Focused Static Web Hosting with CI/CD (S3 + CDN)
Static web application stored in S3 with static hosting enabled, distributed globally via CloudFront CDN with AWS WAF attached at the edge. A CodePipeline CI/CD workflow automatically deploys code changes directly to the S3 bucket. CloudWatch provides real-time monitoring and alerting across the stack.
Self-Hosted VPN on AWS with ECS, EFS, CloudFormation, Secrets Manager
Instead of paying for a commercial VPN that might log your data, built a personal VPN from scratch on AWS. Deployed an open source VPN application inside a Docker container on an EC2 instance through ECS. CloudFormation was used to automate the creation of ASG, EC2 launch template, and EC2 provision. Secrets Manager to store credentials and EFS to ensure persistent storage
Work History
Hands-on IT experience and a cloud-focused academic path building toward a professional cloud engineering career.
- Bachelor of Science in Cloud Computing and Solutions — building on the AAS foundation with advanced cloud architecture and security
- Associate of Applied Science in Cloud Computing with specialization focus on AWS core services, networking fundamentals, and virtualization platforms.
- Troubleshot hardware issues on student laptops across multiple schools in the district — totaling over 5,200 devices.
- Fixed 50+ laptops using ShredOS to securely dismantle storage devices within regulatory compliance requirements.
- Assisted with non-designated tasks including troubleshooting printer connectivity issues on the local area network.
- Managed and fulfilled print orders from customers, including reviewing and editing documents prior to printing.
- Operated and maintained copy and print equipment; troubleshot hardware and software issues to ensure printer connectivity.
- Provided exceptional customer service with accurate responses to questions and product recommendations.
Areas of Focus
Technologies and disciplines I'm actively building expertise in — from cloud security to open-source AI tools.