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Girls in STEM | Barberton's cybersecurity club

Betsy Kling tells us how Barberton High School is helping students get a head start on their cybersecurity degrees.

When you think about cybersecurity it's kind of like electricity: It's everywhere.

About a year ago, the University of Akron launched its cybersecurity degree. It then partnered with Barberton High School to allow students to earn college credits toward that degree, putting them ahead when they move on to college.

It's a win-win, but what does someone with a cybersecurity degree do?

"Think of it as protection," Akron Dean Elizabeth Kennedy said. "The person who is the cybersecurity specialist will be able to detect when someone is hacking into your system, they'll be able to develop defenses so that people can't penetrate your system, and they'll be able to make sure that everything you have networked runs efficiently as it's suppose to."

While Barberton's program is at the high school, teachers knew they had to get students interested early, so they've started a cyber security club at the middle school to provide that pathway.

"Part of my job is to encourage students that down the road, they're all going to get a career in something," club adviser Tim Stults said. 'Not only are we giving kids tools, but we live in a digital age, and so because we live in a digital age it's import for kids to know what they are doing."

For many, gaming is what drew them to the club. But now, they're learning so much more, like what they should or shouldn't click on, what is a fake or dangerous request, or how to respond to cyber bullying. In reality, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

"I thought it was going to be pretty easy going into it, but learning how to program and configure and network [is] pretty hard," junior student Phoenix Satterwhite said. "Overall, I like it and I'm getting through it every day."

Stults says the kids will carry with them what they are learning now, and if they decide to take the cybersecurity classes in high school, earn college credit, and make this a career, it's all icing on the cake.

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