The cybersecurity clinic initiative was launched by Howard Community College in 2025, through a nonprofit called Cyber Ready Clinic. Now, Carroll and Frederick County’s community colleges are signing onto it.
Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, announced during February’s State of the State Address that Maryland would invest $4 million to expand AI training for workers. “We need to make sure our workers are not being left behind by AI,” he said.
The Maryland Department of Labor awarded $500,000 to Howard Community College to expand the program into Carroll and Frederick counties. The spinoff programs are expected to begin this fall.
“You can’t do cybersecurity without touching AI,” said Minah Woo, Howard Community College’s vice president of workforce, innovation and strategic partnerships. She told the Carroll County Times that “AI is infused in the cybersecurity clinic that we are providing.”
The money will fund the clinic — a 10-week, paid internship program — for three years, said Kelly Koermer, Carroll Community’s vice president of workforce, business and community education. In-person meetings and virtual coaching will round out the learning opportunities, she wrote in an email to the Carroll County Times. The three-year span means training will be offered to multiple cohorts of students.
Koermer highlighted the way community colleges prepare the workforce for changing labor needs. “Community colleges play a central role in that effort because we are designed to respond quickly to industry needs, align education with real‑world applications, and prepare talent at scale,” she wrote.
Carroll participants will include current cybersecurity students, as well as information technology professionals looking to expand their cybersecurity experience, Koermer said. Participants will receive a stipend after successfully finishing the program.
Matt Day, the director of Carroll Community’s cybersecurity program, said: “This will be an opportunity for [students] to take their skill set that they’ve learned in the classroom and then apply it to an organization or a small business in the community to benefit that organization.”
Day said some of the program specifics are still in the planning stage. Because the community colleges are advancing the program collectively, they’ll find internship opportunities for students across the counties.
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