Blinn hosts its first cybersecurity summer camp for high school students

22 students took part in the Department of Defense program

July 17, 2024

A weeklong camp at Blinn College encouraged high school students to become the next generation of cybersecurity frontliners.

The cybersecurity camp at the Blinn College-Brenham Campus recently drew 22 students who spent five days learning about everything from privacy laws to Raspberry Pi devices. The U.S. Department of Defense sponsored the camp through its Cyber Leadership Development Program.

“The purpose of the camp is to spark an interest in science and technology in young students and to give them excitement about cybersecurity,” said John Romero, Program Director for Outreach and Continuing Education at the Texas A&M University Cybersecurity Center. “We want them to consider careers in cyber. The Department of Defense is looking for help, the military branches, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), Space Force … We want them to come help the government for a while and then go into industry after that.”

Romero, a Blinn alumnus, emphasized that cybersecurity agencies need more than just computer experts in their efforts to safeguard digital information.

“A lot of people think this is just about cybersecurity, and it’s not,” he said. “That’s one of the things we talked about here. We don’t just need computer science majors. We also need people who understand risks, we need people who understand law and policies. If you want to do psychology, we need that.”

Blinn Cybersecurity Program offers hands-on experience, small class sizes, and an opportunity to earn a Level 2 certificate and an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree. The AAS degree and certificate are both offered at the RELLIS and Brenham campuses.

While most of the students who attended the camp were recruited at Brenham High School, Heather Linfoot came from New Mexico.

“I found out about the camp from one of my teachers,” said Linfoot, who will be a high school senior in the fall. “It’s been wonderful. It went beyond my expectations. It’s really cool.”

At the beginning of camp, participants are given a Raspberry Pi, a tiny, inexpensive but fully capable computer that includes all the components of a standard personal computer. Campers use their Raspberry Pi in a variety of ways, including learning the Linux operating system and writing computer encryption programs.

Romero worked hand in hand with Dr. Bruce Gooch, head of Blinn’s Computer Science Department, and Carol Wiggins, Program Coordinator of Blinn’s Computer Information Technology Program. The camp was held in the Innovation Center in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Innovation (STEI) Building.