Ashley Antunez will be studying cybersecurity at the University of Nebraska Omaha in the fall. Reflecting on her experiences, she wrote, “Today, careers in engineering and computer science are often seen as male-dominated fields, which can demotivate many females, including me… As I continue to learn more about computer science and cybersecurity, I plan to join programs to increase my knowledge and, hopefully, see other females on the same path. Encouraging them and seeing other women in STEM is not only inspiring for them but also for me.” With her eyes on Digital Forensics & Incident Response, Ashley is well on her way to being a female role model in tech.

Brady Cronen will be studying computer science at Southwest Minnesota State University in the fall. From Hancock, MN, Brady became interested in cybersecurity after his school was attacked by ransomware. “When I heard school was cancelled, I volunteered to come in for free because I knew it would be a good learning experience,” Brady wrote. “I helped the firm factory reset the devices and install new security software. This devastating event shows the importance of having skilled and knowledgeable people working to stop this to ensure these events do not happen again.” His goal is to return to work in cybersecurity in his community.

Truman Gilbert of Eminence, KY, will be studying computer engineering at Brigham Young University in the fall. Born in Iowa and a Kentucky resident since second grade, Truman wrote, “I have always loved puzzles and taking things apart to see how they work, and cybersecurity manifests this. Hackathons have been such a fun and creative outlet for me since my first one in my freshman year.” He now has his eyes set on becoming a Network Security Administrator, for which he says, “The act of physically managing and setting up networks, as well as the digital aspects, really intrigues me, and I believe would be a good balance of physical and digital problem-solving.”

Yaroslav Kulyna, a sophomore at Augusta University, is studying cybersecurity engineering. From Grovetown, GA, Yaroslav has always been interested in technology, even programming his own 2D game as a kid. He wrote, “I joined my school’s CyberPatriot club, where we were tasked with defending an operating system completely different from the computer programming I was used to. I was highly fascinated with this topic and quickly took my school’s cybersecurity pathway, where I realized I wanted to pursue this in the future. I stayed at CyberPatriot all four years of high school, joined other clubs and programs, such as my school’s robotics team, and attended GenCyber, where I developed my cybersecurity skills.” He is interested in pursuing a cybersecurity career with the NSA in the future.

Caden Purcell of Waterford, PA, will be attending Bucknell University in the fall to study computer engineering. Interested in technology since he was a kid, his interest in cybersecurity came from the pandemic. He wrote, “Suddenly, everything was online – normally not an issue. During the pandemic, however, my family moved – to an area with no internet providers. While we waited for service to reach us, we had to find workarounds. Protecting our devices as they went online fell to me.” With a love of how broad the field has become, he now dreams of a cybersecurity job at Disney.