Category Archives: Cybersecurity

IET Career Days are Back!

Showcasing NOVA’s commitment to supporting students and professionals in IET fields, NOVA’s IET High School Career Days return this March and April! These events introduce high school students to in-demand technology career pathways.

Check out our IET Career Day Video

Career Days are FREE and feature presentations and panel discussions by industry experts covering a range of topics such as Information Technology, Engineering Technology, Computer Science, Data Center Operations, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, and Credit for Prior Learning (e.g. Google, CompTIA, and AWS certifications). Students will also tour the particular NOVA campus they are visiting (Loudoun, Woodbridge, Manassas, Alexandria, andAnnandale).

High schools that meet the minimum registration requirement will be provided free transportation to and from the event and lunch is also provided. This is a first-come first-serve event and each campus is capped at 200 attendees.

Registration is required to attend and all high school students must self-register for their respective Career Day.


Register below to attend a Career Day at one of our NOVA Campuses: 

Tuesday 3/12 Loudoun Campus
Wednesday 3/13 Woodbridge Campus
Thursday 3/14 Manassas Campus
Friday 4/5 Annandale Campus


For questions contact Braden Traw at jtraw@nvcc.edu or Justin Owen at jlowen@nvcc.edu.

Paid PWCS IT Internships for NOVA IET Students

Through December 13th, there are excellent PAID internship opportunities for Northern Virginia Community College students who are currently enrolled in an IET program of study (Cybersecurity, IT Help Desk, Cloud Computing, Computer Science, and more).

Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) is offering multiple Information Technology (IT) Support Technician internships that will begin during the spring 2024 semester.

This internship involves working under the general guidance of experienced PWCS Technical Support Specialists to assist students, teachers and staff on-site with hardware and software issues at one or more PWCS locations.

Students will gain hands-on experience in IT support while contributing to the efficient operation of a school’s technology infrastructure.

The internship will operate during regular daytime business hours and interns will be paid $20/hr with a maximum earning of $3000.

Apply by December 13 through the NOVA Career Connection portal

More about NOVA IET at https://www.nvcc.edu/academics/divisions/iet/index.html

#InDemandTech #InformationTechnology #Internships #InformationTechnology #Nighthawks

PWCS IT Intern Now Working at NOVA in IT

Fatima Shareen comes full circle from NOVA cyber student and CLRI to NOVA IT employee.

 By Kristy Gillespie

Fatima Shareen is a recent NOVA cybersecurity graduate and now works as an Information Technology (IT) Support Technician at the bustling Woodbridge Campus, future site of NOVA’s Data Center Operations Training Facility and where NOVA’s Information and Engineering Technologies (IET) program is based.

Her current career pathway was trailblazed from her time as a Prince William County Schools (PWCS) IT intern when she was a NOVA student. From the beginning, the 150-hour internship at Forest Park High School provided flexibility as she could choose between an eight or six-hour day, giving her the freedom to efficiently manage her busy schedule at work and at George Mason University, where she is pursuing a cybersecurity bachelor degree.

Like many technology students at NOVA who are looking to develop their soft skills, Shareen previously completed NOVA IET’s Career & Leadership Readiness Institute (CLRI): “I loved the CLRI program. I actually enrolled twice because the instructors provided great support for the interview process and helped with resume building.”

Shereen highly recommends that NOVA IET students take advantage of CLRI so they have better internship opportunities, as being a CLRI grad played a pivotal role in securing her own PWCS intern spot.

Her key tasks during the internship included computer imaging (which involves the installation of operating systems, applications, and settings) and computer scripting for automating tasks in websites and web applications. She utilized Configuration Manager, a systems management software product, to handle a total of 3,000 laptops.

At Forest Park High School, Shereen progressed through her internship in a “warm and welcoming environment with supportive individuals.” One person who had a profound influence on her was Sylvia Avila, an IT Support Technician. “I’ve been working for the last six, seven years, but never encountered someone like her. She was simply amazing and incredibly helpful,” Shareen said.

The PWCS internship significantly bolstered her resume, enhanced her teamwork skills, expanded her IT knowledge, and provided valuable hands-on training. Shareen emphasized how those skills acquired during the internship continue to support her in her current career, particularly with diagnosing and resolving computer errors or technical issues: “If you are in the IT field, troubleshooting is the most important thing that you should know.”

Shareen has come full circle, from NOVA student to NOVA employee. Reflecting on those who made a positive impact during her time as a student, she singled out IET Professor Michael Spiller as her favorite instructor: “The way he taught was different from other teachers. He always showed up to class stating that he was the boss and we were his employees. I took 3 or 4 classes with him. He was amazing.”

In her professional environment, Shareen is keenly appreciative of NOVA’s “positive vibe,” with friendly people and job tasks similar to those performed during her internship.

Looking forward, Shareen aspires to venture into entrepreneurship and develop her own business, possibly through the Fulfillment by Amazon platform.

Shareen’s heartfelt message to NOVA students is: “your time at NOVA is an invaluable investment in your future, and I encourage you to approach it with dedication and belief in your capabilities.”

PWCS IT Internship Opportunities are currently available for NOVA students. Apply by December 13 through the NOVA Career Connection portal

More about NOVA IET at https://www.nvcc.edu/academics/divisions/iet/index.html

#Nighthawks #NOVAPride #InDemandTech #InformationTechnology #Internships #InformationTechnology

CLRI Kickoff Our Biggest One Yet

The Career and Leadership Readiness Institute (CLRI) kicked-off at the NOVA Annandale campus on September 7th and this Fall’s group is our biggest one yet with over 50 registered participants.

CLRI is free and provides NOVA students the opportunity to become more competitive job candidates.

NOVA IET’s M. Andy Chaves and Sedrick Settle have established a highly regarded program that equips NOVA students with career readiness and priority consideration for paid internships with industry partners.

The kick-off event is intended to give CLRI participants an invested and friendly opening to what’s become a vital program at NOVA.

Just from the kick-off alone, surveyed students responded with the following feedback:

“This was an amazing session, something I needed for a very long time. Today I found my brand with the help of two amazing mentors. Looking forward to gain more valuable tips.”

“Thank you for being genuine and for sharing personal experiences with us.”

“It was great! The guest speaker went over all communication skills in great details, provided great examples and requested the crowd to participate as much as possible. Best workshop so far in my opinion.”

“It was interesting and educative. I’m glad I joined this program. I really need a mentor in life.”

“It was a great experience, learned a lot of tips and important aspects of interview techniques. In fact, it helped to build confidence and hope in me. Great workshop.”

Fall CLRI sessions are are currently underway. where CLRI students are training how to interview, create a resume that stands out, network effectively, manage interpersonal skills in a diverse workplace and more. For NOVA IET students, the CLRI is a vital component in learning soft skills to complement technical skills.

Many CLRI grads have landed internship and job offers from tech industry partners directly through the program.

New Spring sessions will be available to sign up for in Jan 2024. Fill out our Interest Form and we will alert you when registration is available.

More about CLRI at www.nvcc.edu/career-services/clri.html

 

Q and A With CyTalks Intern Maseeh Lalee

We spoke with NOVA cybersecurity student Maseeh Lalee about getting ready for the real world, self-advocacy, and career goals.


Q: Please explain the importance of cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity deals with every aspect touching the digital realm. I think when people think about Cybersecurity, they think about anti-virus or technical stuff like firewalls. In fact, it’s often simple concepts. For example: don’t overshare on social media, guard your digital footprint, use complex passwords, don’t add people who you don’t know, etc. The importance really lies in trying to limit the methods that an attacker can compromise a system or a person by gaining information, which often is publicly available. Also never assuming your data is safe or your privacy is ensured, cybersecurity’s importance is emphasizing that security is a shared responsibility that everybody is involved in.

Q: Generally, why are internships important?

Internships really give you a good look at how work, and to a larger extent business, is conducted in a professional environment. In this internship with CyTalks, I found the access we were given to Office 365 cloud suite gave us an opportunity to experiment with things and to complete the tasks we were given. I also value internships as a networking avenue, I met some people on my team that I’m still in contact with today.

Q: What specific hands-on activities have you engaged in during your internship? What has been your favorite task or project?

We were doing so many things related to Cybersecurity. The first project was auditing our systems to take a security baseline and it gave us some insight into system hardening and the compliance or legal side of Cyber. We reviewed guidelines like the NIST Risk Management Framework which outlines the process of managing risk associated with systems added to a network and the subsequent security controls put in place to secure those systems. I also got to write a paper on the Cyber Skills Gap which was pretty fun just doing research about the field I am actively pursuing. My favorite task or project was actually the most unsuccessful, which was malware analysis. Basically, we ran malware or a virus inside a virtual machine to observe its behavior. Although the malware’s execution didn’t work for me, building this sandbox environment really motivated me to doing this stuff on my own time since it was aligned with what I’d like to do in the future.

Q: Who has had a particular influence on you during your internship?

Dr. Kohy and my team lead Bethany has much influence on me. Dr. Kohy gave us insights in how we should carry ourselves and industry specific advice. Bethany gave our team a lot of motivation and support to stay on top of deadlines.

Q: What’s the importance of soft skills (communication, problem solving, working with people) in cybersecurity and what have you learned during your internship in this capacity?

Soft skills is super important and I think it was stressed on so much that it became ingrained in our mindset. Just working as part of a team let us know the importance of soft skills. For example, managing projects and their deadlines, effectively communicating and resolving any problems with your team. The golden rule I learned is you must be personable and be a self-advocate. Nobody’s going to help you if you’re not willing to help yourself.

Q: How did your experience as a NOVA student prepare you for your internship?

NOVA’s classes were much in line with what we were doing. Mostly I was pulling from self-study and research assignments I’ve done at NOVA to streamline the projects to complete them smoothly.

Q: Explain what you think are the benefits of a 2-year degree in Cybersecurity and also a 4-year degree. Do you plan to go straight into the workforce or transfer after NOVA?

I think there are both direct and indirect benefits. The direct benefits are what people often look to when they’re trying to convince students to go to college, that the degree makes you more employable. However, I think it really depends on the person cause self-study is definitely possible. I know people with 2-year degrees that don’t really know anything. They just went through the classes at NOVA but never retained the concepts. So it’s really about the work you put in. If you’re already an IT professional, a 2 year degree would suffice. If you’re just entering straight out of high school, a 4 year degree could be in your path because there are many fundamentals you have to learn in order to get into Cyber. Simply because Cyber isn’t really entry level even though there’s many “entry level” positions open. As far as my plans go, I’m transferring to George Mason University but am also actively partaking in other internship opportunities and applying to full time IT/Cyber jobs.

Q: What particular area of cybersecurity do you want to pursue?

I want to get into SOC, Incident Response or Vulnerability Management. They’re all Blue Team or defense roles but particularly SOC interests me because being a Security Analyst is my dream job.

Q: What type of software have you used in your internship and how has it equipped you?

It was primarily the Microsoft Office 365 Suite, which was Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It has benefited me because in the internship I’m at now, we primarily communicate through Outlook and Teams. Learning to schedule meetings on Teams was extremely useful.

Q: Tell us a little about the personal side of internships. What are relationships like with peers and with supervisors at Cytalks?

With peers it was great, I had 2 teammates and I really liked them both. One of my teammates his name is Justin, he ended up becoming good friends with me and I got to know him well. My supervisor Bethany was an extremely invaluable resource for me and she was extremely kind. I received great mentorship from both her and Dr. Kohy for guidance as we were navigating through the internship and figuring out our paths.

Q: What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?

The biggest challenge is adapting. Trying to stay ahead and be able to manage the workload, because if you can’t deliver a project on time, it’s a bad look on your time management skills. I just tried to stay ahead and keep adapting to any new information I encountered.

Q: What has been the biggest game-changer for you in this internship?

I’d have to say the confidence I got with learning self-advocacy and getting myself out there as much as I can. I was taught an interesting lesson. “It’s not what you know but who you know”. It gave me an idea as to how important networking and the need to build connections with your colleagues or people who can become future friends. Even just treating everybody with respect is super important cause if you think about things solely on how someone can benefit you, you’re harming yourself. This internship was a humbling experience seeing people who’ve been in cyber for years volunteering their time made me think in more positive terms.

Q: What else should we know from your experience as a CyTalks intern?

It’s a great opportunity for interns to learn as much as they can. You’ve got to experience it to find out how great of an environment it is. It was insightful seeing how much freedom they gave us interns as to which projects we could choose but also in managing and creating these projects. We were just given a deadline and some guidelines, but as to how we implemented it was up to us and our creativity as a group. I was surprised how much research we did at CyTalks, it was almost like we were in a class but it never felt like a classroom environment. The team leads were always very motivational and supportive to us. I think that’s what really made this internship, we were put into teams and I felt accountable to my teammates and didn’t want to disappoint them.

Q: What are your career goals? Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

My career goal is to get into Cybersecurity, specifically the defense side of things. In 5 years I want be a Tier 2 or 3 Security Analyst working on incident response or in a SOC. Eventually I want to get into Cyber Engineering or the management side of things which can happen in 7 years. Cloud computing is a big field now so I would like to also incorporate my knowledge of cyber to become a Cloud Security Engineer which I could achieve in 10 years or just go towards Cyber management like CISO.

Q: Bonus question: Do you have a favorite show that depicts Cybersecurity? What do TV and movies get right and wrong about Cybersecurity?

I don’t watch much shows but I can speak to this a bit. I watched a couple episodes of Mr. Robot, and I can say it was somewhat accurate. Most ethical hackers have a strong background in cyber so they’ll be in a cyber engineer jobs cause there’s simply more blue team/defense jobs than red team/hacking jobs. From watching Snowden, I can say that’s pretty realistic too. Especially the part where he’s downloading files onto a USB and then exfiltrating it off the servers. He was a security analyst so he would’ve had access to those specific files/data and also the biggest threats are often insiders or employees/Ex-employees cause of their levels of access and knowledge of the network’s architecture or inner workings. It would be easy for them to break into a system they know like the back of their hand.

 

NOVA Wins Gold, Silver, and Bronze at SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference!


NOVA’s SkillsUSA National Competitors

Back Row (L to R): Soham Nawthale, Jonatan Solomon Gebremichael, Nathaniel Bunger, Ardian Peach

Front Row: Takeshi Tamashiro-Pardo, Marcus Dent, Claudio Molina, Dhyuthi Chegu, Kanykei Korosheva, Mahelet Gebremichael, Nora Kaup


Last September, upon being recognized at a special NOVA ceremony for winning a bronze medal in Cybersecurity at the 2022 SkillsUSA National Conference, Ardian Peach was prescient about NOVA prospects in future SkillsUSA events when he declared “although this is NOVA’s first medal on the national stage, it won’t be the last.”

How right he was. Last week, June 19-23, at the 2023 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, NOVA took home Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals, with Peach one-upping himself from last year with a silver in Cybersecurity.

The Skills USA National Leadership & Skills Conference is the ultimate recognition of excellence in career and technical education. This event brings together thousands of students, instructors, business partners, and administrators to celebrate the accomplishments of those preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and it’s an incredible opportunity for students to showcase their talents and skills on the national level.

NOVA’s Jonatan Solomon Gebremichael Wins Gold!


NOVA triumphed with their first national gold. Jonatan Solomon Gebremichael won in the category of Internet of Things: Smart Homes, a three-day intense hands on event where he was required to install a smart TV, smart thermostat, antennae and more onto a make shift room. The event included a troubleshooting component which required him to fix certain things that “went wrong” with his installation.

Gebremichael was ecstatic over his win, saying “It felt amazing. It was something that I’ve never thought would happen because I did not imagine that I was going to win. I worked so hard, not because I wanted to win, but because I truly enjoy what I do. Being encapsulated in my work and my love and appreciation for STEM and engineering led me to this moment. I’ve won at other competitions, but nothing this big nationally, and for that I am so, so happy. Words cannot even express right now. NOVA has brought me to the forefront of my dreams.”

Read more about Jonatan’s experience here.

As mentioned earlier, Ardian Peach returned to take silver in Cybersecurity and earned back-to-back National stage winner status. The three-person team of Nathaniel Bunger, Kanykei Korosheva and Mahelet Gebremichael earned bronze in the Engineering Technology Design team challenge. Claudio Molina also took bronze in Principles of Engineering.  Dhyuthi Chegu took the silver in Extemporaneous Speaking.

Mahelet Gebremichael, Kanykei Korosheva, and Ardian Peach with their medals.


Ardian Peach remarked on his continued success “there’s really something special about being able to compete at nationals against some of the brightest students in the country, and fly home with a medal. We’ve proven that our skills go far outside the classroom and have real world impact, and I’m really proud of that. I’ve gotten opportunities at NOVA that I couldn’t get at a lot of 4 year institutions, which have definitely put me ahead. Shoutout to AllCyber at the Woodbridge campus for helping me prepare for SkillsUSA Nationals!”

Peach will transfer to University of Central Florida this Fall and just this week received news that he has been accepted to the USA National Cybersecurity Camp/Combine, which is used to select the team to compete at the International Cybersecurity Challenge.

NOVA’s SkillsUSA team began their journey in Fall 2022, which culminated in 13 gold medals at the State Championship in April (read more about that here) and 12 students qualifying for Nationals. Students arrived in Atlanta on Monday, June 19, registered and went straight to work.  Some worked on final adjustments to their projects, others put in one final night of studying and review while others met other students and industry professionals from across the country.  The conference was held at the Georgia World Congress Center with some events held at nearby venues.  Thousands of students competed from all 50 states.

The theme for the conference was “Our Time is Now” and NOVA students proved themselves up to the task.  Each team member supported each other and cheered each other on as the conference and competitive events progressed.

One of the bronze medalists In Engineering Technology, Kanykei Korosheva (who is also president of NOVA’s Student Government Association), said that being part of SkillsUSA “has truly been an extraordinary journey throughout my college experience, enriching me with invaluable skills and unforgettable memories. The camaraderie and collaborative spirit we fostered as a team were instrumental in our success. The networking aspect of SkillsUSA opened doors to new friendships, mentorship possibilities, and potential career prospects.”

Her teammate Mahelet Gebremichael added “this has been an incredible journey for me. It required courage to step out of my comfort zone and explore various areas of engineering, technology, and design through my competition. NOVA has played a crucial role in my growth by providing opportunities to engage in clubs, attend conferences, and even pursue an internship that exposed me to real-world applications of my studies. NOVA’s commitment to providing opportunities for all students, regardless of their background or level of confidence, is truly remarkable and Skills USA plays a big role in connecting students with the same passion and interest, providing a platform for collaboration and learning from one another.”

Nate Bunger, a fellow bronze medalist, was similarly grateful for the support he has received in his success: “SkillsUSA, along with the gracious help and resources of NOVA, helped build my skills, let me explore my passion, and gave me the tools necessary to succeed in our competition.”

NOVA’s medalists are listed below.

  • Jonathan Solomon Gebremichael – Gold medal: Smart Homes, Internet of Things
  • Ardian Peach – Silver medal: Cybersecurity
  • Dhyuthi Chegu – Silver medal: Extemporaneous Speaking
  • Nathaniel Bunger – Bronze medal: Engineering Technology Design, 3-person team event
  • Mahelet Gebremichael – Bronze medal: Engineering Technology Design, 3-person team event
  • Kanykei Korosheva – Bronze medal: Engineering Technology Design, 3-person team event
  • Claudio Molina – Bronze medal: Principles of Engineering

There was success for other NOVA students as well. Marcus Dent, placed 5th in telecommunications/cabling and received an immediate job offer from his mentor. Takeshi Tamashiro-Pardo competed in Information Technology and earned his industry certification, CompTIA A+ core 1 and core 2.

Along with all the students listed above, Nora Kaup – First aid/CPR, Soham Nawthale – Computer Programming, and Tanjim Redhwan – Realted Technical Math competed at the national level after winning at the State Championship in April.

Special thanks goes to NOVA IET’s CTE Coordinator M. Andy Chaves and NOVA SySTEMic’s Fab Lab Coordinator Mary Ratcliff for expertly guiding and advising students through the entire process.

Congratulations SkillsUSA NOVA students! You make us proud and boldly lead the way for others at NOVA to strive and succeed.

#BoldyNOVA #SkillsUSA #InDemandTech #NOVAIET

IET Career Days Bring 400 HS Students to NOVA

Our inaugural NOVA IET Career Days were a huge success, with nearly 400 high school students attending from all over northern Virginia.

Held on March 23 (Woodbridge Campus), March 30 (Annandale), March 31 (Alexandria), April 14 (Manassas), and April 28 (Loudoun), Career Days are geared toward bringing students to a NOVA campus and informing them about in-demand technology education and career pathways. More about NOVA IET here.

Career Day events featured presentations and panel discussions by industry experts, including representatives from Google, AWS, Johnson Controls, Leidos, CBRE, QTS, Digital Realty, Deletek, and NOVA, covering a range of topics, including cybersecurity, cloud computing, data center operations, computer science and more.

Industry partners discussed the latest trends and technologies in IET fields and offered advice on career development. Attendees were able to ask questions and gain valuable insights into the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in these in-demand fields.

IET Career Days are an effective example of the burgeoning collaboration between industry and academia as we continue to connect students and professionals with industry partners. Overall, the events successfully showcased NOVA’s commitment to supporting students and professionals in the fields of IET and Computer Science. Many Career Day attendees expressed their desire for similar events in the future.

“My students and I had a great time. It was a great opportunity to hear from a diverse group of professionals about their career journeys, and I have already heard from a few students who got excited about studying computing/IT/security, and about opportunities at NOVA. My students seemed to especially enjoy the tour, and the tour guide did a fantastic job of getting them excited about the facilities and resources at NOVA.”

~ Chris Jones, Counselor, Wakefield High School


NOVA’s Career Days were organized by NOVA IET’s Career and Technical Education Coordinator, Amira Alexander. You can reach her at aalexander@nvcc.edu

 

NOVA Students Win 13 Gold Medals at SkillsUSA State Championship!

At the SkillsUSA Virginia State Leadership Conference in Virginia Beach this past weekend, 15 students represented Northern Virginia Community College: 13 won gold medals for NOVA and 2 won silver!

Each of the gold medalists were declared State Champions in their respective competitive events (including Cybersecurity, Computer Programming, Engineering Technology Design, Information Technology Services, and more) and qualify for the National SkillsUSA Conference in June in Atlanta.

Overall there were 10 individual champions and 2 team champions (a two-person team and a three-person team).  Here are the winning NOVA students and their events:

Competition # on team NOVA Student/SKILLSUSA Member SkillsUSA Virginia State Leadership Conference 2023 Placement
Computer Programming 1 Soham Nawthale State Champion
Related Technical Math 1 Tanjim Redhwan State Champion
Cybersecurity 2 Chimere Nzedu State Champion
Cybersecurity 2 Ardian Peach State Champion
Engineering Technology Design 3 Maddie Gebremichael State Champion
Engineering Technology Design 3 Kanykei Korosheva State Champion
Engineering Technology Design 3 Nathaniel Bunger State Champion
Internet of Things 1 Jonathan Solomon Gebremichael State Champion
Extemp Speaking 1 Dhyuthi Chegu State Champion
First Aid CPR 1 Cindy Tran Silver Medalist
First Aid CPR 1 Nora Kaup State Champion
Information Technology Services 1 Alyssa Vasilica Silver Medalist
Principles of Engineering 1 Takeshi Tamashiro-Pardo* State Champion
Telecommunications & Cabling 1 Claudio Molina State Champion

The State Leadership Conference provided students with the opportunity to utilize the technical knowledge learned in the classroom to solve problems and apply what they learned (with coaching and advising from industry professionals) in a competition environment. Now they have the opportunity to represent NOVA on the national stage!

#InDemand #SkillsUSA

 

Need Cybersecurity Workforce Experience?

Students from community colleges, technical colleges, and universities can join the NCyTE Virtual Cyber Career Challenge!

The challenge is project based and designed to build technical and soft skills. Students will work virtually over ten weeks in small teams to configure, operate, protect, and defend a network of machines.

By completing the project, students will have demonstrated how they were able to plan, problem solve, work in teams, communicate effectively, write reports, and present findings. It is intended to be a real-world workforce experience students can put on their resume to gain future employment.

Eligibility 

Students need to complete the following requirements by March 2.

  1. An introduction to networking course
  2. An introduction to cybersecurity course
  3. Turned in a Cybersecurity Challenge Commitment Agreement (distributed at the information session)
  4. Attended a one hour information session (pick one):

Cyber Career Challenge Schedule

  • March 2 – Commitment Agreement due
  • April 10 – Workshop begins: Introduction to program work roles
  • April 17 – Introduction to the network requirements and team selection
  • April 24 – Network admin basics, Kanban, Gantt charts, Visio diagrams
  • May 1 to June 5 – Teams work independently and receive guidance on network management and pentest prep
  • June 12 – Pentest
  • June 15 – Team presentations
  • September 15 (Optional) Virtual Career Fair

Learning objectives

Students will work in teams of three to successfully complete the following:

  • Develop a project plan for an Information System that supports a fictitious business.
  • Utilize project management tools for communication and project implementation.
  • Operate a network of nine devices within the technical requirements specified.
  •  Defend their network against a penetration test.
  • Analyze the network for any evidence of attacks or compromise resulting from penetration testing.
  • Present their approach to operating the network and findings from the penetration test.

College credit – Students who are interested in earning internship or co-operative education credits by completing the CCC need to inquire with their institution. The CCC does not offer college credit. The CCC instructor, however, holds a similar role as an employer would in an internship. Students need to contact their program advisor at their institution to find out if the CCC will qualify and the process for earning credits.

Visit the NCyTE (National Cybersecurity Training & Education Center) website.

NOVA IT Student Wins First in FOWA Upskilling

Willie Brown is a second-year student pursuing an A.S. in Information Technology, a C.S.C. for Network Engineering Specialist, and CompTIA Industry Certifications at NOVA Alexandria.

The Future of Work Academy (FOWA) is an organization that provides career prep in cybersecurity.

Willie won first place in the FOWA Innovation Incubator Challenge for his presentation addressing one of two incubator topics and then responding to questions from a panel of judges.

Willie was thrilled to place first and we caught up with him to discuss his experience:

You won first place at FOWA for Upskilling – congratulations! How did you react when you found out the news?
I was stunned! There was a moment where I could have screen-captured the college name and mine with the 1st Place label. I missed it!

Why is Upskilling is important in your field?
Upskilling, building upon what I already know, is essential in IT, especially network engineering. Specific knowledge “bits” carry from ethernet to routing protocols to automation—the primary IT knowledge and skills around grounding when learning new technologies.

How has NOVA helped you achieve your goals in Network Engineering and Information Technology?
Several studies indicate that being highly involved in college correlates with better academic performance and well-being. So, well, I am involved. I ensure I get the IET Newsletter and the weekly campus list of events and activities. I make time for essential things. So, NOVA is offering opportunities, and I am using those events and activities to broaden my experience in my Network Engineering and Information Technology classes.

You stated in your presentation that “you are never too old to start anything…” What is your experience learning new career skills later in life?
The makemebetter.net quote continued, “especially if it is going to change (improve) the rest of my life.” I will say that knowing “why” I am learning new career skills changes the game. Knowing my “why” is a pipeline to my “what.” Juggling work and school can be challenging. However, when I start to doubt, I replay Eminem’s – “Lose Yourself” –

“Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip? Yo”.

My “why” is to have a secure future. Part of the “what” is to learn as much as possible – challenge myself to do the things that scare me.

What would you say to students who are considering IT as a career field but don’t have experience yet? How can they succeed?
Of course, they can succeed! However, the opportunities for them, the chances that could change the rest of their lives, maybe looking them directly in the face. My point is to be aware of opportunities so that they can take advantage of them because they may not come along again.

Who has been of particular help to you along your career pathway?
Two essential lessons: 1. Always ask for help, and 2. Never say no for another person. There is always someone willing to help if I would only ask. Next, it is critical to ask for what I want. If I want to stretch myself, it is my responsibility to seek it out and ask for and seek inclusion. I only sometimes get what I want. But I can tell you I am much further along than if I tried to do it alone.

What actions should our community be engaged in to take digital education of adults to the next level?
We always have to consider meeting people where they are. What skills and talents do they already possess, and how can we grow those assets. An essential “must do” is demystifying digital literacy in the modern world. Typing is a critical yet transferable skill that can empower further exploration and growth in information technology. Help those that want to make changes in their lives move forward. I suggest combining touch typing with Microsoft Office User Support certification training in my presentation.

What barriers in diversity, equity, and inclusion need to be addressed in your area of expertise?
One of the first barriers to DEI is the organizational recognition that there are barriers in IT, which must be addressed and overcome if organizations want to be sure they are getting the broadest, most capable talent onboard. For example, I have worked in organizations where no one looked like me. It was challenging when the social and relational barriers at work convinced another person who might look like me or be a woman not to speak up! As a result, good ideas may go unspoken, and profits go uncollected. But on the other hand, the IT team looks like Star Trek will win the race simply because of the openness, supportive environment, and willingness to take risks because they trust their team members.

What’s your work/life balance in this field? What do you enjoy in your spare time?
It is a balancing act, that is for sure! Working full-time and usually a full-time course load requires balancing. I eat right with room for my treat of potato chips, and I do my best to get a good night’s rest every night. Additionally, I started running a few years ago, I had never run in my life, and then I found UK’s NHS Couch to 5k. Within eight weeks, I was running a 5K in 40 minutes. I was like, “WOW, I have just run for 2.5 miles without stopping once and was not out of breath”. I was hooked! Next up, 10K and perhaps even a marathon.