Ronnie Hogges: leaping into a quantum future

End-User Services Specialist Ronnie Hogges has built his career on curiosity.

From building his own computer out of spare parts as a teenager to teaching himself the skills to launch his IT career without a computer science degree, he likes to push himself to take on new challenges and embrace new technology.

“I’ve always been curious about technology,” he says. “I love learning new things and understanding how they work.”

That drive is crucial to his work helping to manage the thousands of devices employees use to serve members every day.  But it’s also his eye for the future of tech that’s earned Ronnie a spot in a cutting-edge quantum computing program that’s the first of its kind in the nation.

From curiosity to career

Born in Macon, Ga., and now living in Tunnel Hill, Ga., Ronnie didn’t originally plan to work in technology. He studied audio production and once hoped to build a career in music production. But as his interests evolved, he found himself increasingly drawn to computers and problem solving.

After leaving a previous role in Atlanta, he decided to pursue IT professionally. Without a degree in the field, he landed a help-desk position, continued learning on his own and steadily advanced into more specialized technology roles.

Ronnie joined BlueCross in 2022 after first working with the company as a contractor. While the opportunity itself appealed to him, it was the culture that ultimately convinced him to stay. 

“[At BlueCross,] what stood out to me was the focus on inclusion, the investment in employees and the shared goal of helping our members,” he says.

Ronnie’s work at BlueCross helps members by keeping our employees connected, managing inventory, data protection, reporting and support for equipment across the Enterprise.

“Our work involves a bit of everything,” he explains. “Our goal is to make sure equipment is secure, recoverable and available when employees need it.”

As Ronnie has worked to help keep equipment running smoothly, he’s also deepened his knowledge in another growing field: cybersecurity.

“I want to help people, and I want to help protect people,” he says. “Cybersecurity feels like a place where I can do both.”

Staying secure in a quantum future

Quantum computing is an emerging field that works differently from traditional computers,  which process information as 1s or 0s. Quantum computers use units called qubits that can represent more complex combinations of information, allowing them to solve certain problems much faster than today’s computers. As Ronnie points out, this technology is more than theoretical.

“I think quantum computing is one of the biggest opportunities and one of the biggest challenges on the horizon,” he says. “It’s something everyone should be paying attention to.”

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses its own opportunities and challenges with keeping data safe, Ronnie believes quantum computing is the most pressing frontier technology to understand. That’s why he’s thrown himself into learning about it, and what ultimately brought him to a prestigious program that teaches quantum skills to upcoming leaders in the field.

Ronnie is a member of the Achievers in Motion (AIM) mentoring program at BlueCross, which helps employees build their career by connecting them with supportive co-workers from across the company. That program introduced Ronnie to Aimen Shahbaz, associate information security governance, risk and compliance specialist, and recent graduate of the BlueSky Institute. Aimen told Ronnie about a new quantum computing opportunity.

The Quantum Computing pre-apprenticeship offered by the Chattanooga Quantum Collaborative and Build Within is a 12-week learning experience combining online coursework, weekly meetings and hands-on labs.

Participants learn from subject matter experts, researchers and startup leaders while also gaining access to cloud-based quantum computing platforms where they can build circuits and run quantum code remotely on real quantum hardware. The pre-apprenticeship is designed to build skills for future users of quantum technology.

Hundreds of applicants expressed interest, but Ronnie was one of only seven participants selected for the inaugural class.

As quantum computing advances, he believes organizations will need to rethink many of the encryption methods that protect sensitive information today. His goal is to help organizations prepare for that future.

“What I’m trying to do is take this opportunity and the knowledge that I’m learning and hopefully become someone who can help different organizations, including BlueCross, become quantum ready,” Ronnie says.

Putting down roots

Outside of work, Ronnie enjoys spending time with his family and caring for the home he and his family purchased last year in North Georgia.

When he’s not studying new technology, he can often be found working in the backyard, tending a small garden or checking on the young trees he recently planted.

“We have a Chickasaw plum and a sunset oak,” he says. “I’m really proud of them!”

For Ronnie, the future is something worth building today. And whether he’s managing technology assets, exploring new technologies or planting the literal seeds of his family’s future, he’s always looking ahead — and working to grow.