The Cyber Patriot program, which was created by the Air Force Association, also is meant to inspire students to learn about STEM - science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Teachers at Pinecrest High School told school board members about the program at their meeting in March, according to a video of the meeting. The teachers said four teams from Pinecrest and one from North Moore High School took part in competitions that focused on resolving cybersecurity vulnerabilities in simulated situations.
A team of students in Pinecrest's Air Force Junior ROTC program ranked 45th out of 508 JROTC teams around the world, said Willow Alston-Socha, a master STEM teacher at Pinecrest. Other teams also performed well, she said.
Timothy Dye, a student at Pinecrest, was on the first team that participated in the Cyber Patriot program in 2013. He said that once he connected with basic computer security, he wanted to learn more.
"It draws me into a future where I can see myself changing the world," he said.
Heidi Scribner said her son, Ryan, has discovered that learning can be fun.
"As a parent, I appreciate all the skills they're learning," she said. "It's a fabulous program, and I really hope it will continue."
Other Pinecrest students participating in the program are Jack Sullivan, Dennis Sarsozo, Kyle Cooper, Aaron Ott, Garrett Underwood, Stevie Pappas, Nick Wolcott and McLane Alston. The North Moore team members are Nicholas Luther, Nicholas Smith and Garrett Kidd.
Alston-Socha said the students who go into cybersecurity can get jobs with salaries starting at $40,000 to $50,000. She said the program helps students learn by working on real-world problems.
"It was a brilliant idea by the Air Force Association," she said.
©2015 The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
