6 minute read
Professor Ricky West Is Bridging Cyber
Bridging Cyber In Black America
By Terry L. Watson
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Photos Provided by Ricky West
Professor Ricky West is no stranger to the classroom. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and South University. He respectfully brandishes a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Information Technology and a Masters in Business Administration. Professor West, as he prefers to be called, kicked off his IT career as an IT Specialist for Richland One School District. There, he enjoyed helping scholars and teachers use technology strategically to uplift learning and retention.
His first entrepreneurial venture was Tiny Techz, LLC and Tekk Solutions, LLC, both happening during the period of 2009 and 2016. He shares, “In the early 2000s, I noticed a problem in the market and educational system. Educators and school leaders struggled to dissect STEM and STEAM education into practical learning objectives and classroom activities. Using the Tiny Techz platform, we developed a curriculum, STEM-based field activities, and afterschool STEM programs for parents and school districts alike,” he says.
Today, Professor West is the founder of Bridging Cyber Incorporated (BCI). BCI is a black and family-owned business and has several key supporters. Based in Wyoming, BCI’s corporate mission is to create a cyber talent marketplace that is backed by intelligence and capable of converting aspiration into career sustainability to achieve superior results for people of color. Additionally, Bridging Cyber owns start-up entities Bridging Cyber Training (Largo, Maryland), Xodus Project North (Ottawa, Ontario) & CertWallet, Inc.
In 2016, Professor West transitioned his life to Maryland, finding true love and wedding vows with his wife, LaNice. He also continued his passion for teaching.
BCI’s Security Operation Center (SOC) is a vocational school. It is powered by B2B, and provides custom talent needs and simulated cyber range specialty training. “We provide exam preparation coaching and specialty training courses for novice students,” Professor West shares. BCT is similar to the military version of AIT. Unlike a traditional boot camp for new soldiers, AIT offers specialized training for specific job needs.
BCI’s Xodus Project North (XPN) is an international brand that promotes domestic services to communities worldwide. “Xodus’ vision is to diversify the cyber talent pool and create equitable career opportunities for communities of color. It is done by incubating cyber skills to increase marketability and employing top talent. Ultimately, I wanted Xodus to become the modern-day version of the underground railroad for black cyber talent, such as a members-only exclusive global pipeline connecting talent with careers,” Professor West says. “Since July 2022, I have been planting seeds in different countries to meet our five-year goal of bringing this project to fruition. Currently, we are preparing to launch operations in Ottawa, Canada, and working on new partnership opportunities in Rwanda and South Africa.”
BCI’s other product, CertWallet, is a membership-as-aservice web application that provides certification monitoring and management services to professionals in competitive industries. It is scheduled to launch in February 2023 and is expected to relieve the agony often experienced by professionals who seek to maintain a competitive advantage among their peers. Professor West says CertWallet will track credentials expiration dates and provide renewal assistance to members creating longer sustainability in their career fields.
Professor West says his father instilled something very important into him at an early age. “If you find a problem, then don’t stop until you have a solution”. He says, “With my first company, Tiny Techz, schools were having a problem identifying how to incorporate STEM in the classroom to promote innovative learning and career exploration. So, I designed a curriculum development company to provide school advisory services and implement an afterschool program for middle and high school students. My platform also brought awareness to the technical deficit in STEM. Bridging Cyber followed the same energy. If you look at cyber training, you have a non-existing cyber education presence in high school, yet you have a demanding shortage talent gap that doesn’t require post-secondary degrees to compete on the other side. There is so much pressure to quickly train, earn certifications, and develop skill confidence between those endpoints. That’s a huge problem.”
He continued to press the issue. In 2016, while in retirement, Professor West became a traveling technical trainer, traveling domestically and facilitating boot camp courses for companies and military posts. “My wife challenged me to stop working with so many training companies and use my talent to open my dream school,” he says. And so he did.
Professor West says he loves chasing light bulbs in his students. “It’s fulfilling comparing students of any age on the first day of walking into my classroom and watching their minds expand to a greater height by day five,” he shares. “It’s not about money for me. I am all about the mission behind the service. If I accomplish my mission, then the money will follow. I love knowing my creativity will hugely impact someone’s life.”
Along the journey of building his brand, Professor West has faced some challenges. One has been dealing with a saturated market. Gracefully, he says they have maintained earnings of over $90K in just four years and still seek ways to corner the market. They have also had to deal with the Covid 19 pandemic. Another challenge was experiencing the abuse of venture capitalists. He says not operating in desperation made the difference.
Getting Black Americans involved in tech and cyber is essential to Professor West. He says, “Black people represent less than 10% of the cyber professionals worldwide in the industry. There are over one million cybersecurity vacancies in the United States, with the number one in-demand job title being cybersecurity analyst. Tech and Cyber are competitive industries based on certifications and skills and offer competitive salaries to anyone eligible. This is why I need to get people of color involved. There are opportunities available”.
In the coming editions of Huami Magazine, we will share more information and details about what Professor West is doing with Bridging Cyber. To learn more about their products and services, please visit their website.
www.bridgingcyber.com
