Two teams of middle school students from Nysmith finished 2nd and 12th nationwide in a field of 190 teams and concluded an exceptional round of competition in the seventh season of CyberPatriot – the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.
Led by Coach Bonnie McCrystal, the team placing 2nd consisted of 8th grade Team Captain William Tan, 7th graders Monica Saraf, Bhavjeet Sanghera and Aryaan Hussein, and 6th grader Ryan McCrystal. Their team excelled in the CyberPatriot VII Middle School Division qualification rounds, demonstrating teamwork, critical-thinking skills, and technical knowledge key to a successful career in cybersecurity.
Led by Coach Praveen Bahethi, the team placing 12th consists of 8th grade Team Captain Sameer Bahethi and 7th graders Devin Host, Kirthi Kumar, Rhea Shah, and Khinezin Win.
The teams’ performances earned them a spot in the Middle School Division Semifinals to be held January 16-18, 2015.
CyberPatriot’s core program – the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition – challenges teams of two to six students across the United States, Canada, and from DoDD schools abroad, to find and resolve cybersecurity vulnerabilities in simulated environments. Top teams from the preliminary online rounds win an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C for the live National Finals Competition, where students compete for national recognition and scholarships.
Established by the Air Force Association, the CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Education Program was created to excite, educate, and motivate students toward careers in cyber security and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation’s future.
