Rackley Wren said one of the most striking things he learned at Georgia Regents University’s Cyber Sciences Summer Academy was that he “cannot tell a lie at all.”
Wren, an 18-year-old Augusta Preparatory Day School student, volunteered for a polygraph test as his camp group toured a National Security Agency facility earlier this week. While connected to the machine and answering his “interrogator’s” questions, Wren said he discovered an aspect of the cybersecurity field unknown to him.
“I asked the employees there what I would have to do to work there or join their study program… So they offered to show us the polygraph test,” Wren said. “As they were doing the test, I realized just how important cybersecurity is to our nation… It was an awesome experience. This was far more in-depth than any other computer camp and I really have a grasp on the culture now.”
Wren was one of 38 Georgia and South Carolina students who attended the Cyber Sciences Summer Academy this week, an effort by GRU not only to pique teenagers’ interest in the rapidly growing field but to also show them how important the field was to their everyday lives.
Developed from a partnership between GRU, the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation, the camp is part of a larger university initiative meant to introduce high school students to the cybersecurity field. Attendees spent the week learning
techniques commonly used in cybersecurity and applying those skills in specially designed virtual computer networks.
GRU Director of Cybersecurity Education Initiatives Joanne Sexton said many of the 30 “skill challenges” students worked on during the week were designed to be “engaging for youth,” often taking the form of games and lectures containing references to popular culture. Students worked through basic code breaking, played an electronic version of “capture the flag” and practiced fortifying and infiltrating computer networks.
Well-known pioneers of the cybersecurity field, including NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers, visited with the students during the camp to offer firsthand accounts of the realities of the job.
Many of the students participating in the event said the camp introduced them to new concepts while building team spirit.
Rebecca Helling, a 16-year-old Greenbrier High School student, said the camp not only sparked her interest in cryptography and code breaking, but also introduced her to new friends.
“Cryptography is like solving a logic puzzle. I’ve never really encountered cryptography before, but I found out I was good at it. It takes creative thinking, and it’s a really fun challenge for me,” Rebecca said. “I also met a few other Greenbrier students here that I really didn’t know existed, but now I really want to hang out with them… I wouldn’t have learned about any of this without the camp, and I’d tell anyone interested in the field to come visit.”
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