AURORA, Ohio — Aurora City Schools is creating a talent pipeline across the state and region for the cybersecurity industry. This is all a part of the district's new program it’s offering high school students.
A career in cybersecurity now ranks within one of the country's top 20 fastest-growing career fields, and Aurora City Schools want to ensure students are fully prepared for the rapidly growing tech industry.
“Even if you don't decide to stay in cyber security, that foundation will stay with you in any job that you have,” said a speaker at the program’s ribbon cutting.
In partnership with Paradigm Cyber Ventures, Aurora City Schools' new cybersecurity program offers students real-world experiences through internships and industry-recognized certifications. Once students graduate, they will qualify for immediate job placement.
High school senior John Green is preparing to go to West Point but wants to take advantage of the tech opportunities that remain ahead of him.
“I think it's really cool to help people in a field like this,” said Green. “You get to help people and in a field like this you see all the threats that it has and I think it's just really cool to have the opportunity to start at such a young age and be able to stop some of those threats.”
Another senior, Kavya Balreddygari, thought she wanted to go to college for software development but realized cybersecurity is where all the jobs are currently.
“This course isn't just reading these articles to figure it out and just take a test; it's actually hands-on and you have to figure out a lot of challenges and puzzles, which is what you're going to have to do if you go into cybersecurity,” said Kavya Balreddygari.
The course is for sophomores and up. No background or prior commuter knowledge is required to participate.
“You can be a sophomore in high school and begin to kind of get interested in this and be making money by the time you are technically a senior, the skies the limit,” said Green.
These courses also don't just teach students the technology and computer science behind it all; they also teach professionalism and workplace skills needed if they want to start working right after high school.
