Laci Henegar, RSU's STEM coordinator, graduated in December with the university's first master's degree in cybersecurity policy, governance and training. RSU added the master's degree option to its cybersecurity program, offered through the Department of Technology and Justice Studies, in summer 2025.
Department head Curtis Sparling said while undergraduate cybersecurity primarily teaches students how to break and bolster digital security networks, the master's program trains them to wed that knowledge with leadership skills. The course is virtual, contains 10 eight-week classes and takes a year to complete.
"Within the cybersecurity profession, organizations are looking for individuals to be trained and educated on policy processes," Sparling said. "Typically at the bachelor's degree level, you'll see individuals in the trenches, so to speak, doing cybersecurity. But of course, we need individuals who are acting as chief information officers or CIOs, and that's what this program specifically educates individuals for."
Henegar has been around RSU since 2015, when she started as an undergraduate elementary education student. After graduating in 2020 — she had switched to business after the 2018 teacher strikes — her alma mater hired her as an academic adviser for the College of Professional Studies, which houses RSU's business and technology degrees. She remained an adviser until January 2024, when she pivoted to the STEM coordinator position.
As STEM coordinator, Henegar leads camps that introduce area K-12 students to robotics, coding and other tech skills. She also works with the RoboClaws and CyberCats, RSU's competitive robotics and cybersecurity teams.
"I really thought my heart would be with the business students because that was what I had a degree in," Henegar said. "But then when I got into it, I just really connected with it. ... Technology is like a big puzzle, and I like that concept of figuring out the puzzle pieces and where everything fits."
Henegar earned her MBA a couple months into her new role. She started her master's in cybersecurity degree, along with several other students last summer, but Sparling said she finished a semester ahead because nine of her MBA credit hours transferred.
"It wasn't a fun six months, but I have no regrets, and I'm really happy that I did it," Henegar said. "I was at work for eight hours a day, and then I would go home, and I would walk my dog. In the summertime, I sat out on my porch, and I would do my homework until about 9:30. I just rinsed and repeated until December, when I graduated."
Henegar said she doesn't plan to become a CIO; instead, she wanted her master's in cybersecurity to help her realize her longstanding dream of teaching. She said she wants to lead more cybersecurity camps at RSU and one day teach cybersecurity in a K-12 environment.
Sparling said each of the classes in the master's program requires students to apply skills CIOs must possess, such as developing a comprehensive cybersecurity policy for an organization.
He said he is especially proud the degree takes a single year to complete because it makes a master's in cybersecurity much more accessible to working adults.
"Many organizations are looking for individuals who have a seat in the executive boardroom and can fully explain why their department or organization needs to have specific training on cybersecurity to protect their organization, and can make reasoned arguments on why capital investments are required," Sparling said. "This program produces individuals who can do that."
© 2026 the Claremore Daily Progress (Claremore, Okla.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
