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In an initiative funded by the (CCI),George MasonUniversitypartnered with the and local cybersecurity firms tohelpexpand the pipeline of cybersecurity professionals.
One barrier to integrating young people into a professional environment istheirexperience withworkplace communications,conductin a professional environment, and work in teams.“Weregularlyhearfromour corporate partners that soft skills are a vital piece ofworkforceeducation thatshould be essential inthe academic,professional training programs,and classes currently available,” says Liza Wilson Durant,director of theCCINoVaNode,professorand associate dean for strategic initiatives and community engagementat the College of Engineering and Computing.
The Children’s Science Center had been running an intern program for high school and college students for the past four years that teachesmany of these skills,so a partnership between the CCI andthe Centerseemedideal. TheChildren’sScience Centerprogramwasdesigned for high school and college students with STEM backgroundsbut with limited or no previous work experience.Their programuses both classroom training and hands-on experience as the students learn important workplace skills. Theprogram began with aprofessional development orientation programlastingtwo weeks and was offered as the start of a 5-week high school cybersecurityinternship.
“Combining the intellectual capital available at AV and the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation creates a powerhouse opportunity for the Northern Virginia community. Together, we are exploring new ways to prepare all youth for the future STEM opportunities that await them,” says Mike Tillman, director of experience, Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation.
,professor at AV’s and affiliate faculty in the presented two workshops during the orientation.Theworkshops focused on multidisciplinary problem-solving,among otherthings, andaddressed what competencies would make the students successful as interns.
“We used very simple tools-the KWL assessment,which addresses what do you know, what do you want to know, what do you want to learn,” saysSeshaiyer. One of the key messageshe stressed was that failure is part of the processand how to turn failure into success.
“The students were all really excited to be in the internship,theyalready had the passion to make a difference. They want to know how to make that impact. Some wanted to go impress people with content knowledge,” saysSeshaiyer.“I was there to help them understand what to look for, how to work in teams, they will be part of something bigger, how to fit into a bigger group.”
After the two-week training, the students moved intoplacementswith local companies,CCI partners,and other cybersecurity firms.Twentystudents received an offer of a summerinternship,attended the two-week professional development orientation,and received a stipend from CCI of $2,000.
Shirley Benedict, a recent graduate of Chantilly High School who interned at ManTech International,found the sessions useful and immediately applicable. “I've absolutely been able to incorporate a lot of the problem-solving strategies in my internship,” she says. “Part of my work as an intern involves scripting and running queries against incredibly large datasets that contain trillions of pieces of data. When I run a query and find that I'm not getting the response I expected, it can be hard to pinpoint the exact location of the error due to the sheer magnitude of the data. In situations like this, I've used Fermi Analysis strategies to make educated estimates, as well as the Five Why's technique to retrace the steps my code has taken and find the location of the bug.”
CCI partners stepped up to takeonhighschool internstomentor, train,and support the goal to widen the talent pipeline. “Widelityis aligned with the CCI’s vision, which recognizes that in order to address today’s workforce gap of cybersecurity talent, an effort must be made to develop the pipeline of STEM talent in our secondary schools. We are excited to host four students this summer, with a focus on developing their professional skills and enhancing their cyber-related industry knowledge,”says PaulAltoz, CEO ofWidelity.
Tiffany Yan, ManTech’s college recruiting, student Internship programs, and diversity outreach manager,found great alignment between her role and the internship program. “I was already doing some of this work for the company, and the internship withtheChildren’sScience Centerand CCI seemed like a great fit,” she says.“The company hopes that the internships become a pipeline to toptalentand toconvert them to full-time staff,” she continues, “and transition them into ManTech employees.”
Yan found the interns to be smart, creative,and enthusiastic. “The program was so successful we hope to expand it next year,” she says.Based on this year's success, the CCINoVaNode will host the programnext year, hoping to expand and double its size.
About the Children’s Science Center:
Northern Virginia Science Center Foundationandthe Children’s Science Centeris a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates the Children's Science Center LAB at Fair Oaks Mall and STEM programs traveling to schools and other community venues across the region. Thefoundation is also developing the Northern Virginia Science Center in Dulles, Va., a world-class, interactive regional science center for families, students,and learners of all ages made possible through a pivotal public-private partnership. Learn more aboutthemission today atandthevision for the future at
About the CCINoVaNode:
The CCI Northern Virginia Node (NoVaNode) comprises the region’s universities, colleges, and private, nonprofit, and government organizations, all sharing a commitment to building capacity in cybersecurity. TheNoVaNode is grateful to thefollowing companies who hosted one or more interns:ChainbridgeSolutions, MantechInternational,Widelity, Inc.,OceusNetworks, Inc.,NT Concepts, Inc.,andSYSUSA,Inc.