San Antonio is widely recognized as "Cyber City USA,” and students at Veterans Memorial High School in the Cybersecurity pathway are gaining more than just classroom knowledge; they’re acquiring the real-world skills needed to launch careers in one of the region’s most in-demand and high-paying industries.
Over the course of four years, students learn more than just cybersecurity. They gain experience in nearly every facet of Information Technology, building a broad foundation of technical skills.
“I never thought about Cyber [security] as a career. Then, I learned so many broad skills - networking, hardware, software, troubleshooting, and, then, security. It’s all of these different skills that will open up opportunities,” said Senior Cybersecurity student John Campos.
Cybersecurity teacher Joshua Bailey explained that cybersecurity is really information security, and in order to understand that, students need a broad range of skills.
“They must understand the device or the endpoint security, computer maintenance, the applications and software, and policies for user accounts and permissions, as well as securing the way that information is transferred,” Bailey said.
Students quickly see how these skills apply across industries. From coding and application development to finance and healthcare, the knowledge they gain opens doors to a variety of career paths. They’ve also had the chance to put their skills to the test in competitions like Cyber Patriots and the National Cyber League, where they consistently earn top-of-the-nation recognition.
“In competitions, they're given challenges that folks in industry would have to deal with and prevent, investigate, or perform. They have to be able to infiltrate systems. And then some of the forensics where they've got to determine what's happened after. How did they do that? How do we prevent something like that? So those are real challenges that folks face in the workplace,” Bailey said.
Alongside technical skills, students are developing strong problem-solving abilities, skills that will benefit them in any career and in everyday life.
“Problem solving is a big, big part of what we do - looking at things from different perspectives, looking at how to attack things in different ways,” said Junior Jarod Campos.
Bailey added, “Taking what they've learned and applying it to various situations requires them to be versatile, flexible, elastic in their way of thinking.”
That adaptability is clear when students talk about their futures. Senior Nigel Bodeo, for example, isn’t planning to pursue a career in cybersecurity, but he still sees the value of the program.
“In college, I want to learn more about AI (Artificial Intelligence) and coding. So, I'm not pursuing a cybersecurity career, but this program has still made a big impact on what I want to do,” Bodeo said.
Graduates of the VMHS Cybersecurity pathway can earn multiple industry-based certifications that immediately qualify them to enter the workforce or support their college goals. Because of CTE programs like Cybersecurity, Judson ISD students have real choices and the skills to succeed after high school.