Everyone who signs up to CyberStart America can compete against all players for career-enabling college scholarships, but will also have the option to join one or more specialist CyberStart communities
Communities offer additional support and community-specific awards within the overall scholarship competition, and can give like-minded students the chance to share their CyberStart experience and help each other out.
Girls Go CyberStart community JROTC/CAP communityGirls Go CyberStart community
Sponsored by SANS Institute
GGCS was launched in 2017, aiming to close the gender gap in cybersecurity. Since then, over 30,000 high school girls have taken part in CyberStart, and some incredible female cybersecurity talent has been revealed!
The GGCS community is set to continue in its mission to provide a supportive learning environment for girls with cyber potential, but as part of the larger CyberStart America program.
GGCS clubs are still absolutely encouraged in schools and community groups – sometimes a shared learning environment brings out the best in everyone!
Our students had a great time. In a short window of time I watched our students develop their creative problem solving skills, practice perseverance and develop team work
CyberStart America offers any girl participating in the CyberStart America program the chance to connect with other girls through the GGCS community, where they can share ideas and experiences, and compete for additional community-specific rewards and prizes on top of the core National Cyber Scholarship awards.
Opt to join the GGCS community when you sign up to CyberStart America, and we’ll be in touch soon with more information about how being part of this community will benefit you.
Community-specific prizes
As well as competing for all the standard prizes available through the National Cyber Scholarship Competition, members of the GGCS community will also be offered chances to compete for:
- Membership of WiCyS (Women in CyberSecurity), and the chance to attend their conferences and events.
- GGCS swag, including tote bags, pens, stickers and pop-sockets.
How to join the GGCS community
You can join the Girls Go CyberStart community by registering for CyberStart America, and checking the relevant box in the “Additional information” section.
Eligibility
To be eligible to join this community, students must:
- Identify as female.
- Be at least 13 years old from program starting date.
- Be enrolled in 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade at a public or private school in the US (or the homeschool equivalent).
JROTC/CAP community
Sponsored by National Science Foundation
Summer 2020 saw the launch of the JROTC Cyber Summer Challenge, with JROTC/CAP cadets across all services playing CyberStart Game to train for an All Services Cyber Cup.
High school students with an existing CyberStart Game license through JROTC/CAP are welcome to continue playing, and any cadet reaching the qualifying criteria for the National Cyber Scholarship competition will be automatically invited when it takes place in Spring 2021.
JROTC/CAP cadets who are new to CyberStart can sign up to play Game through the CyberStart America registration process, and can elect to join the JROTC/CAP community via their registration form.
It teaches you so many things about cybersecurity in such a fun and interactive way that you feel like you’re exploring the field on your own.
Community-specific prizes
As well as competing for all the standard prizes available through the National Cyber Scholarship competition, members of the JROTC/CAP community can compete for these additional prizes:
- The top 10 scoring JROTC/CAP cadets in the program will receive SANS training vouchers, each worth $7500, to complete a DoD-approved SANS professional training course and the associated GIAC certification.
- The top 70 scoring JROTC/CAP cadets will receive prizes of $100 as Amazon gift cards.
How to join the JROTC/CAP community
You can join the JROTC/CAP community by registering for CyberStart America, and checking the relevant box in the “Additional information” section. If you were already playing CyberStart through JROTC/CAP prior to the CSA launch, you will receive an invite to join the online CyberStart JROTC/CAP community space, should you wish to.
Eligibility
To be eligible to join this community, students must:
- Be a cadet or student at a participating JROTC high school.
- Be a cadet in a participating CAP squadron.
- Be between the ages of 14 and 18 when joining the program.
Support
If you require any help or further information email support@cyberstartamerica.org and we'll be happy to help.
FAQs
Can't find what you are looking for? We may have the answers to some of your questions over in our knowledge base.