Shared Passions for Humanity and Technology: DSST-Byers and SecureSet Academy Announce Internship
By Pattie Kettle, Community Manager at SecureSet Denver
D SST is a public STEM school system that’s known for making education about the bigger picture, not just homework and tests. DSST has eight middle schools and six high schools in Denver located on eight campuses. Recently, DSST-Byers High School and SecureSet Academy partnered for an 11th grade internship program.
This 11th grade internship is a great example of how DSST works towards the growth of their students. SecureSet Academy is thrilled to have the opportunity to offer a cybersecurity internship onsite at our Denver location. Today, there are roughly 300,000 vacant cyber jobs. Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that there will be 3.5 million unfilled positions by 2021. With this internship, SecureSet Academy hopes to inspire the next generation of cybersecurity professionals, by offering an inside look at exciting and necessary cybersecurity career paths.
Why Intern at SecureSet?
DSST and SecureSet have a shared passion for turning motivated people into the skilled, talented, technology workers that the 21st century requires. Both programs also share the key basic value of respect. They encourage human growth and development through the use of technology. Because of our shared values and aspirations, a DSST student will feel right at home as an intern at SecureSet Academy.
This internship isn’t about cleaning computers, it’s about having DSST-Byers students engulfed in the world of cybersecurity for 10 weeks. This is an internship that students will want to participate in because of the experiences that are provided. Past intern, Spandan Koirala says; “I have learned about working with Linux and how to work with the terminal exclusively, and I really like the quiet and focused atmosphere here at SecureSet.” During Spandan’s time at SecureSet, he has worked on moving an entire network from onsite to a larger off-site data center. He has also written diagrams and plans for setting up classroom technology and explored SecureSet’s CTF exercise in depth.
What Will SecureSet/DSST Interns Learn?
STEM students, like Spandan, will love this internship. It will involve them in actual cybersecurity exercises, improve their coding skills, give them experience in Linux, and give them access to the amazing amount of content provided by SecureSet’s talented, accomplished, and skilled cybersecurity instructors.
From deep-diving into SecureSet’s CTF exercises, to engaging in focused work with SecureSet’s team of talented, passionate lab technicians, to assisting in physical hardware configurations, and actual classroom set-ups, interns at SecureSet are getting their feet wet in cybersecurity in a meaningful and stimulating way.
Who Do Interns Work With?
The Lab Tech crew at SecureSet Denver is a young, exciting, and passionate group of individuals who are eager to share their professional knowledge. Working with this team, interns can be inspired with meaningful work, which grows their technology skill set using real cybersecurity tools. Interns walk away from this experience with both knowledge and skills, provided by engaging and talented cybersecurity professionals.
On the Denver campus, DSST interns will report directly to our Lab Systems Administrator, Travis Riley. Travis is a graduate of the SecureSet CORE program and has a very natural way with people. Travis is stellar at taking complex concepts and explaining them in an easy-to-understand way. For Travis, the benefits of the SecureSet Academy/DSST internship goes both ways. In Travis’ mind, there are three parts to this collaboration which add value for SecureSet and for the interns themselves:
1. Ability to Mentor — We are able to shape individuals who have an interest in the field, which helps get them on the right path quicker. This also leads to interns experiencing technologies they otherwise wouldn’t have dealt with.
2. Engagement of Community — We’re pulling directly from DSST-Byers and returning a more confident, experienced student. This also benefits our community and in the end. If the intern chooses to stay in the industry, they’re more prepared.
3. Engagement of Youth — The youth are our future. By engaging early, and building good work habits, we help our interns build confidence and effectiveness for the working world.
Secure Your Internship
The SecureSet Academy/DSST-Byers internship is an opportunity for students to use their STEM skills in a stimulating learning environment. Cybersecurity is an exciting field, and this industry needs well-trained future professionals. With SecureSet and DSST-Byers having the commonality of an inclusive, strong community, and a culture where every student is valued both for who they are as well as their successes, this collaboration is a natural fit. At SecureSet, our number one goal is to Secure The Future. This internship opportunity is a big part of that.
If you’re interested in this internship opportunity, you can contact the DSST-Byers Internship Coordinator, Sara Sonnenblick at sara.sonnenblick@scienceandtech.org.
Pattie Kettle is the Community Manager at the SecureSet Denver Campus. Pattie provides enduring cybersecurity strategies, community outreach and human help to attract quality tech prospects and deliver educational excellence for SecureSet Academy.
