Students Show Off Cyber Skills in National Competition

Last week, two PGIA high school CyberPatriot teams competed in Round 1 of the annual defensive cybersecurity competition. CyberPatriot allows students hands-on practice in marketable, real-world cyber defense skills. They perform tasks that professionals use to secure computer and network systems. Over 5,000 teams are registered for this competition, including teams in every state and overseas. PGIA was the ONLY school in the Virgin Islands to compete in Round 1 and our Team A landed in the top 50% of teams!

"I choose to participate in CyberPatriot to further my understanding of the lack of security that the Internet has brought us,” says Alexis Harris, Co-Captain. “I appreciated trying to do my best and participate on the team even though I might lack in certain areas. My partner and I scored 55 points on our virtual computer and we really contributed to our group's success. That feels good!”

The competition window lasts 6 hours and there is no way to know or prepare in advance for everything. (Special kudos to Zia, who unlocked some important skills on the Ubuntu Linux operating system in the middle of the competition!)

High School CyberPatriot Team Members:
Grade 11: Amelie(Team Captain), Ella Popple, Divina
Grade 10: Ella Crew, Dallas
Grade 9: Maceo, Alexis, Micah, Zia, Lyle, Mariana (Zia and Alexis Team Co-Captains)

Thank you to Technical Mentor Dr. Marc Boumedine of UVI, who was present during the entire round to help solve any technical hurdles and make sure all the competition software functioned properly.

We are still recruiting Middle School students to compete in Round 2! Interested students can reach out to Mrs. Hoffart at rhoffart@students.vimsia.org or come to our practices after school on Tuesdays from 3:30 to 4:30.

CyberPatriots

on display

Over 5,000 teams are registered for this competition, including teams in every state and overseas.