Six Compass Academy students have been named national cyber scholars after competing in a 48-hour cybersecurity competition.
Thousands of high school students competed in a 'capture the flag' series of computer security and codebreaking puzzles between April 5-7. Each puzzle completed by the students earned them a 'flag' of secured code that earned them points.
The competition was organized by the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on preparing students for potential careers in cybersecurity. The top-performing students received $2,500 college scholarships and were invited to a cyber training and certification course held by the foundation.
The winning Compass Academy students were Karina Hansen, Kaleb Jennings, Zoe Johnson, Raymond Kalwarf, Collin Morgan and Wyatt Nilsson. Four other Idaho high schoolers were named cyber scholars — two from Boise, one from Meridian and one enrolled in Gem Prep Online.
Idaho National Laboratory had encouraged local students to take part in the competition, and the related CyberStart America program, for the last several years. The lab's STEM Program Manager Jennifer Jackson said in a press release that recent events like the Colonial Pipeline attack had made the role of cybersecurity experts more notable.
“We’re very proud to support Idaho students in their passion for learning in fields like cybersecurity that will be vital in coming years," Jackson said.
Nathan Peck, another Compass Academy student, was among the four finalists for the scholarship prizes in Idaho.
Gloss