Although CyberPatriot teams could not meet in person to practice their skills, Cochise College continued to support them despite the pandemic. 

CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program created by the Air Force Association to inspire K-12 students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs. Throughout the U.S., thousands of students compete to secure virtual networks. 

Dan Guilmette, Angela Lucero, and Sean Paul supported the teams by setting up and passing out notebook computers. Guilmette and Lucero are instructors in the Cochise College Cybersecurity Program. Paul is a mentor with a school. “In addition to providing remote technical support through Zoom, the college loaned eight computer systems to two different teams,” said Guilmette. 

This year, Cochise County had ten teams competing from their designated site locations. The teams are 4H, Berean Access Denied, Berean CP, Berean Cyber Stressors, Berean Internet Heroes, Home School, Tombstone CyberSaiyans, Tombstone Cyber Knights, Tombstone Darn Diddley, and Valley Union. 

The CyberPatriot program requires students to learn concepts outside the standard computer curriculum at their school. The teams competed in three rounds, with each round lasting six hours. “It is usually pretty quiet, but in the last round, we had a “hair on fire” moment when three teams needed assistance at the same time,” added Guilmette. “In round three, which is equivalent to the semi-finals, there were a couple of teams that had a “punchers” chance at the finals.”

The college supports the CyberPatriot program because it is a great first-hand experience for middle school and high school students to learn about cybersecurity, cyber defense, and how to be a cybersecurity professional. “At the state level, two teams did well,” said Guilmette. “However, none of our teams advanced to the national finals. We have lots of room for improvement.” 

Congratulations to Berean Academy’s middle school team, Internet Heros, and Berean Academy’s high school team Access Denied!

  • Middle School – 1st Place in State: Berean Academy Internet Heros
  • High School – 2nd Place in State (Silver Tier): Berean Academy Access Denied