Girls from Lakeland Regional High School have discovered their hidden talent for cybersecurity this year with an exciting Governor backed program, Girls Go CyberStart, designed to bridge the cybersecurity skills gap in the US. During the program, girls across the country competed in a series of digital games and challenges to see if they have what it takes to make it in the cybersecurity industry.

Over ten thousand girls across 27 states took part in the first stage of the program, CyberStart Assess. At the end of that round, 6,600 girls performed so highly that they received invitations to take part in the second round, CyberStart Game.

Running until June 28, CyberStart Game pits teams against a series of increasingly difficult cybersecurity challenges to win points for their school.  

For the first month of CyberStart Game, girls applied their cyber skills to accumulate points, vying to be one the schools invited to the third and final stage. Last week Lakeland Regional High School girls found out their score qualified them for The National Championship for Girls Go CyberStart 2019. Here 120 school teams, each comprised of 4 girls, are set to compete in a national online ‘Capture the Flag’ competition, which runs June 5 – June 7.

The top-scoring teams in this final round, both nationally and per state, will win cash prizes for students and their schools. An additional ten high school juniors and /or seniors from New Jersey with high scoring CyberStart Game scores will also be awarded $500 each in college scholarships.

Alan Paller, Research Director at SANS Institute, a research and education organization focused on cybersecurity,  said, “Congratulations to all the schools through to the National Championship round of Girls Go CyberStart! It’s fantastic to be able to celebrate and bring to light the hidden-talents of high school girls across the US.

“Alongside Governors, the support from schools and teachers has been instrumental in helping us empower a generation of incredible young women to become the next leaders in an industry where they can make a huge difference. We can’t wait to see what this talented groups of students from Lakeland will go on to achieve.”

Ann Pagano, the team’s advisor said, “I am so proud of our students for making it to Nationals! Through collaboration, they solved challenges that mimicked realistic threats that professionals in the field of cybersecurity face. I always knew that our Lakeland students had the potential to shine!”

Diana Shancey, freshman, said, “I joined Co-ed Coders without any experience and discovered I have a passion for computer science. The challenges are fun, and I’m excited to be heading to Girls Go Cyberstart Nationals!”