More than two dozen incoming high school freshmen from Mobile County spent part of their summer break getting a head start on a potential career in cybersecurity, thanks to a free camp hosted at the University of South Alabama.
The GenCyber camp, sponsored by the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation, gave students a crash course in cybersecurity fundamentals at no cost to participants. Organizers say the program is designed to spark early interest in computing fields at a time when demand for skilled workers in the industry far outpaces the supply of qualified graduates.
Les Barnett, director of USA’s Center for Forensics and Information Technology, said participants were selected from among the top 10 percent of students in the Mobile County Public School System. He said workforce development was a driving reason behind starting the camps in the first place.
“There are roughly three jobs for every graduate with a degree in computing,” Barnett said, noting that USA’s School of Computing offers five undergraduate degrees along with graduate and doctoral programs in the field. He said the bigger challenge is finding enough students with strong math backgrounds to fill the pipeline.
USA’s program was one of just 43 GenCyber camps held at 29 universities across 18 states this summer, reflecting a broader national push to build cybersecurity talent starting well before college. The recognition follows a February honor from the NSA, which recognized USA’s cybersecurity degree program for its academic strength.
USA School of Computing Dean Alec Yasinsac said the university has positioned itself among the top cybersecurity training programs in the region. “We feel we are the preeminent cybersecurity institution in the state and one of the preeminent in the southeast,” he said following the NSA’s recognition earlier in the year.
For the Mobile County freshmen who took part, the camp offered a rare opportunity to explore a high-demand career field years before most students would typically encounter it in a classroom setting. Organizers hope early exposure like this will help keep local students engaged in math and computing coursework throughout high school, ultimately feeding more graduates into a regional workforce hungry for technical talent.
University officials say they plan to continue hosting the camp in future summers, with hopes of expanding the number of Mobile-area students who can take part as interest in cybersecurity careers continues to grow nationally.