Dec. 26, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Dakota State University.

The reach of the Governors Cyber Academy at Dakota State University isn’t limited to just one demographic. The organization has served elementary, middle and high school students through camps, after-school programs and cyber road shows. And this fall, two college students developed outreach sessions for homeschooled middle and high school students.

These sessions, offered in person in Sioux Falls at Hillcrest Church, are meant to expose the students to cybersecurity topics and potential career paths through interactive, hands-on activities. They serve about 30 homeschooled students.

“Cybersecurity impacts every single career field now,” said Dr. Fenecia Homan, dean of the Governors Cyber Academy. “So regardless of what career field they want to go into, these concepts will be very foundational and necessary for them to learn.”

Homan recruited DSU students Caden Gortmaker and Addison Nipper, junior cyber operations majors, to work together to develop and lead these sessions.

Addison Nipper and Caden Gortmaker are teaching area homeschooled students about emerging technology through the DSU Governors Cyber Academy program.

“It’s interesting because it’s a very diverse age group, seventh through 12th grade, which makes it hard to pick something that can be broadly applied while keeping everybody on the edge of their seats,” Gortmaker said.

Nipper appreciates the differences in age and skill level. “Some of them are Gen Cyber students who are pretty well versed in this stuff, and some have no idea what we’re talking about,” he said.

“While some of our lessons might be a little more specialized, they contain a lot of generally important things to know about when using the internet and cyberspace.”

In the sessions, they’ve covered topics such as programming with microbits, password security, working with AI and networking. One activity had the students use an AI software called Gandalf Lakera AI.

“We teach the vulnerabilities of AI to the kids by having them trick Gandalf into telling them the secret password,” Gortmaker said.

Students also were able to test the strength of passwords by using a site that will tell people how long it might take to crack, which can be minutes to thousands of years, Nipper added.

At Governors Cyber Academy outreach events, students work on programming and software projects but also work hands-on with techniques such as soldering.  

In addition to enjoying teaching the students these concepts, Gortmaker appreciates that it helps him understand the concepts and information better as well.

“I find that I learn just about as much as the kids do at times,” he said.

The two have enjoyed teaching the sessions and hope to assist with other outreach events and projects in the future.

Here is more information on the Governors Cyber Academy.