The director of America’s Cybersecurity Agency made a special visit on Sept. 26 to the Socorro Independent School District to speak with students in the district’s School of Advanced Technology Applications, or SATA, about the importance of cybersecurity and their future in technology and the computer science field.
Jen Easterly, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, conducted a meaningful conversation with some 40 juniors and seniors enrolled in the SATA Academy, one of SISD’s premier advanced academic academies.
“I’m very excited to be here and super excited the emphasis that this district has on technology and computer science because you don’t see that everywhere,” Easterly said. “I’m really trying to ensure that we have that across the country. So, this is super impressive.”
The director of the nation’s cybersecurity, who is a presidential appointee, is charged with leading the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s efforts to understand, manage and reduce risk to the cyber and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every day.
She spoke to the students in SATA at Eastlake High School about several topics regarding her duties as CISA director and gave them advice to consider as they study and pursue careers in computer science
Easterly has been focusing efforts on the department’s internship programs and was eager to inform the students that within the internships students could learn about items such as threat hunting, incident response, vulnerability management and working with partners in technology industry and private sector.
“It’s all about aptitude and it’s all about attitude because in this field in cybersecurity we’re really looking for, first of all, people who want to defend the nation, but also people who are collaborative and people who are fun to work with,” she said. “It is really important to bring the right cultural fit. We’re really trying to build an agency where people wake up in the morning and are super excited about what they do … they are inspired by their leaders and they feel like they are making an impact every day.”
The students were engaged with Easterly and asked many questions, including what they should do to prepare for a career in cybersecurity, about her experience and about minorities and women in the field of computer science and technology.
“When I heard she was coming, I almost didn’t believe it,” said Olivia Avila, a senior in the Eastlake High School SATA Academy. “The SATA program itself has really put me ahead in some ways. Although there is more to learn, I do appreciate that the district is able to provide these opportunities. I think this was a core memory made and I will be able to walk away from this very enlightened and educated.”
Eastlake High School junior and SATA student Jarell Kearney agreed that hearing from Easterly was inspirational and highly informative.
“I loved being able to talk to her, as well as hear and learn from her,” Keaney said. “For a while I thought, do I really want to go into this field? After today, I considered it and yes this is something I want to do.”
The opportunity for the SATA students and the district was made possible due to Socorro ISD’s innovative work in preparing students for post-secondary education and careers with a focus on technology and computer science with the widely known SATA Academy.
“Dr. Easterly was incredible. I think her goal here was to make sure our young students got introduced to cybersecurity,” said Hector Reyna, SISD deputy superintendent. “Cybersecurity technology right now is critical across the country and around the world and I think her lending a hand in making sure that the students in our school district get a pipeline into technology, which includes cybersecurity, is invaluable. I think her being so authentic and how she related to all the students was just powerful.”
Published September 26, 2022
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