Cybersecurity Exploring Program Leads to Career Growth
Rebekah Schmersal finished Network Security Degree at Rhodes State College in May 2021. The program took 3 years total to complete.
She started taking classes at Rhodes in 2018 being at only 15 years old taking day classes while being homeschooled.
Her last semester at Rhodes, Rebekah did an internship at CentraComm. She learned so much about the different aspects in cybersecurity while helping on projects.
The class she learned the most in was the IT hardware, learning about computers and taking them apart. Learning about switching, routers, and networking. Looking at what hackers look for and how to defend them is fun and ever changing. Most of her training is on Cisco, Palo Alto, Fortinet networks.
She first found out about cybersecurity careers. First exposure to the field was in programing but it was not her favorite part of IT. Her dad was talking to a friend at work and he said for every certificate holder there is 10 other openings and the demand is so high. She figured since she does IT already this would be a good fit. Once she got working in the Cybersecurity field, she realized how broad it is. Working at a hospital, bank, local government, to just about any field.
Q: Where do you see cybersecurity 5-10 years?
A: “It’s becoming easier to do attacks with more and more devices going online such as refrigerators, fish tanks, to washer and dryers. It’s going to need more and more people going into the field with the huge growth in attacks. The dream position would be an educator on the field of cybersecurity”.
“Having the opportunity in the Exploring program the biggest part she was thankful is having the ability to ask questions with specialist and hearing the wide diversity in how they got their start”.
Being aware of the information you are taking in and you have responsibility to understand what you are reading or seeing and taking a step back to filter it.
Rebekah has four siblings living in Glandorf. She enjoys teaching dance classes and fills in every now and then. She also enjoys reading and vast number of subjects. Do hard Thing -Talks about expectations of young people and how to do hard things when young.
If you have specific questions, contact Colin Earl at colin.earl@scouting.org
If you have a story for the Extraordinary Explorer newsletter or would like to learn more about the program for local high school students, contact Colin Earl at colin.earl@scouting.org.
Exploring began in 1949 and is part of the Black Swamp Area Council program and learning opportunities along with the Scouting program serving young people of West Central and Northwestern Ohio.More than 5,400 individuals are participating in the local program as a Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturers, Explorers and adult volunteers. In 2020, these individuals participated in 8,069 hours of community service. For more information about finding Scouting near you, visit BeAScout.org
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