UNG hosts female-focused CyberSHEro

Fifteen high school students participated in the inaugural CyberSHEro event on June 22 at the Cottrell Center for Business, Technology & Innovation at the University of North Georgia (UNG) Dahlonega Campus. CyberSHEro was created to support young women pursuing cyber education and cybersecurity as a career field.

Activities included keynote Shenika Hurst, computer network defense analyst at the National Security Agency (NSA); learning about car hacking from UNG's Dr. Bryson Payne and a hands-on cryptography lesson from Dr. Cindi Smatt, cybersecurity professor and associate department head of computer science and information systems at UNG.

Student also participated in a hands-on demo of Cyber Patriots, led by Autumn Sutton, cyber program officer at UNG's Institute for Cyber Operations, and Smit Patel, a senior at UNG pursuing a degree in cybersecurity. The demo covered some basic cybersecurity principles by showing students how they can find vulnerabilities in a Windows environment and how to verify user access, Caitlin Conneely, cyber program officer at UNG's Institute for Cyber Operations, said.

The teens also heard from panelists Hurst, Alyssa Scott ‘22 (digital forensic investigator at GBI), and Hope Kellum ‘23, currently pursuing a Master of Science in computer science. The trio spoke on the importance of cybersecurity, how rewarding it is to work in cyber, why the nation needs more women in the cyber workforce, and advice to young women who were interested in pursuing cyber.

McKenna Hoffman, a junior at the Alliance Academy for Innovation in Forsyth County, Georgia, attended to start exploring cyber as a career choice.

"I mainly wanted to attend because I've recently gotten really interested in computer science and cybersecurity in general. I wanted to see what options were out there for me if I chose to go into it as a profession," she said. "Overall, it was a great experience and it definitely made me seriously consider going into cybersecurity for college. Honestly, I think the whole thing was worthwhile, but I really enjoyed the panel and getting to ask questions. It really helped me with deciding what I want to do later in life."

Shea Wilson attended to get a female perspective on the field and learn more about UNG's cyber program.

"It was important for me to hear from a female perspective because cybersecurity is a male-dominated field. I see this, especially with Cyber Patriot teams," Shea Wilson, a senior at Chapel Hill High School in Douglasville, Georgia, said. "I attended CyberSHEro to get more information on the growing cyber career paths, specifically the one at UNG, and to get more insight and clarification on what the cyber workforce entails."

Wilson, from Douglasville, Georgia, said she was especially interested in hearing the female professionals talk about their experiences in the workforce and how it has impacted them today. 

Cumming, Georgia, resident Sydney Moore attended because of UNG's reputation for interesting and worthwhile programs for high school students, including the Scholastic Gaming and Esports Conference (SGEC), an event she'd previously attended.

"I attended the event because I had attended SGEC at UNG earlier in the year which had made me consider UNG as a future college. When I got the email about CyberSHEro, I thought it would be a good chance to see and learn a bit more about UNG," she said. "Overall, I was mainly interested in meeting new people and making connections. Luckily, I was able to do just that, talking to people both in the cyber field and people with military backgrounds — both of which I am interested in pursuing. All in all, it was a great experience, and I would absolutely participate again next year."

Moore is a sophomore at the Alliance Academy for Innovation.

There was also a teacher track during the event in which cyber/computer science high school teachers received training from Jen Marden, Regions Investing in the Next Generation (RING) curriculum specialist at the University of Alabama Huntsville. Participating teachers received free access to the RING program, which provides them with a free cyber curriculum that they can incorporate into their courses throughout the year, as well as a classroom set of Cyber Threat Defender, a multiplayer card game that teaches students essential cybersecurity information and defense strategies, Conneely said.

"We’re hoping to grow this event over the next few years and bring cyber resources and support to young women across Georgia. We strive for diversity in the cyber workforce because the more perspectives we bring to the table, the better we will be at problem solving. Since cybersecurity is an ever-growing industry, it’s a security risk to not have the perspective that women bring to the workforce," Conneely said. "We want to bring together young women from around Georgia with the interest and tenacity to pursue cyber and help them take those next steps."