CyberStart America 2021

CyberStart America is a fun and interactive series of challenges that offer the chance to explore exciting topics such as cryptography, penetration testing and digital forensics.

Program Details

CyberStart America is a free national program for high school students to master cybersecurity as a gateway to the industry, up their digital skills, and compete for college scholarships!

Program Eligibility

To be eligible to participate, students must:

• Be at least 13 years old
• Be enrolled in 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade at a public or private school (or the homeschool equivalent).

Eligibility checks will be conducted throughout the process to ensure licenses, scholarships, and prizes are awarded to eligible students.

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 community

Become a CyberStart America Advisor?

High school teachers can help find the next cybersecurity superstars by becoming Advisors and running a CyberStart America Club in their school. No previous cybersecurity knowledge or experience is required to join - just an enthusiasm to inspire your students to up their digital skills.

Press Releases

• dti.delaware.gov - Delaware High School Students Named “National Cyber Scholars"
• news.delaware.gov - Delaware High School Students Named “National Cyber Scholars"

Delaware Students Making Positive Moves in the Cyber World!

DELAWARE WINNERS ANNOUNCED!!!

CyberStart America Results:
416 Delaware Participants
40 Delaware Students Qualitifed

Delaware
CyberStart America Scholar Winners

• Annamarie Warnke, Padua Academy
• Molly Shapiro, Padua Academy
• Kelsey Mulrooney, Padua Academy
• Albert Opher, Sanford School

Delaware
Cyber Fast-Track Winners

• Evan Timko, Delaware State University
• Kirolos Boghdady, University of Delaware
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CyberStart America Scholars awarded $1500 college scholarship money and free access to the Summer 2021 Cyber Foundation Academy / Cyber Fast-Track Winners earned $12,000 in scholarships and cyber training provided by the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation.

 

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Read What The CyberStart Winners Are Saying!

When I first participated in GirlsGoCyberStart as a Freshman, I didn’t know anything about cybersecurity. It gave me a strong foundation, not only in basic cybersecurity and computer science topics such as cryptography and web exploitation, but also in life skills such as teamwork. Looking back at my four years of experience with CyberStart, I’m so grateful that this competition sparked my interest in cybersecurity and gave me the tools I needed to maintain that interest throughout high school.

Annamarie Warnke '21

Competing in the Girls Go Cyberstart and Cyberstart America competitions have been incredibly rewarding experiences for me. I started my first competition in 2018 with no knowledge of cybersecurity, and finished my final competition this year with the confidence to pursue a degree in cybersecurity. These competitions allowed me to realize and chase my passion for cybersecurity, and have given me the skills and preparation I need to eventually enter the industry as a cybersecurity professional.

Molly Shapiro '21

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Thank You!

Thank you to our Delaware Planning Team including members from the Department of Technology & Information, Department of Education, and Padua Academy for supporting this year's event in Delaware!