University of Maryland hosts girls' cybersecurity career workshop

At about 10 a.m. Tuesday, a group of middle school girls wearing matching white T-shirts formed a line leading into the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center.

The 350 girls from local schools were headed to the Cool Careers in Cybersecurity for Girls Workshop. The Maryland Cybersecurity Center and the Maryland Center for Women in Computing partnered with the National CyberWatch Center K-12 Division to host the annual event.

The event aims to foster discussion about cybersecurity careers and spark girls’ interest in the field.

“We put on multiple events because there is a shortage in the representation of women in this field,” said Jandelyn Plane, Maryland Center for Women in Computing director. “It is an issue we are addressing in many ways.”

Students came from schools across this state, including ones in Baltimore City and Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Each student received a drawstring bag with notebooks, pens and hairbrushes.

During the three-hour program, participants rotated through four stations related to cybersecurity. Employees from companies such as Lockheed Martin, Google, Boeing, Northrop Grumman Corporation and the National Security Agency volunteered to man the stations and educate the student groups.

Read the full news in Diamondback.