Foster, Chapman Named National Cyber Scholars

Bridget Foster

Two Mississippi high school students earned the coveted title of National Cyber Scholar this spring after winning a rigorous 48-hour competition designed to evaluate aptitude in combating cyber threats.

The winning students are Bridget Foster from Gautier High School (Pascagoula- Gautier School District) and Zachary Chapman, who is homeschooled.

More than 30,000 high school students across the country sought to qualify for this year’s competition, and only 5,000 advanced to the first round. Of those students, only 600 nationwide performed well enough to earn the National Cyber Scholar title. These students each won a $2,500 scholarship and an invitation to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy (CFA), a multiweek training and certification course.

Cybersecurity is a critical issue facing this country with the potential to impact government, defense, communications and financial systems. According to recent studies, the U.S. needs to train more than 3 million cybersecurity professionals to properly defend the country’s infrastructure. The scholarship and competition are designed to attract and incentivize more students to enter the field.

“This scholarship recognizes high school students who have demonstrated exceptional cybersecurity talent,” said David Brown, the executive director of the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF). “The NCSF’s mission is to help close the critical cybersecurity skills gap by identifying and developing the next generation of cyber professionals. Each and every student who participated in this competition has the potential to develop their skills and build a successful career in cybersecurity.”

There are several qualification pathways for the National Cyber Scholarship Competition (NCSC) including CyberStart America, a free online program that helps students discover their interest in cybersecurity and develop their talent and skills. The NCSC offers 600 college scholarships to top-ranking competitors. Additionally, National Cyber Scholars, along with the competition’s 1,000 finalists, are invited to participate in the CFA.

The NCSF is a national nonprofit whose mission is to identify, nurture and empower the next generation of cybersecurity experts and eliminate the cybersecurity skills gap in the U.S. The organization aims to support the entry of thousands of talented students into the cybersecurity industry by providing enrichment opportunities, world-class training and scholarships to fund degree-level study.

CyberStart America is a free national program for high school students, aiming to uncover hidden cyber talents and identify and develop the next generation of cyber superstars. CyberStart’s immersive gamified learning platform can take students from no cybersecurity knowledge to possessing the skills necessary to compete in a national-level Capture the Flag challenge in a matter of weeks. Students new to the field with a strong aptitude, as well as students with existing interest in the field, can use the platform to train and qualify for the NCSC, allowing them to compete for life-changing college scholarship opportunities.

Bridget Foster