Cyber Security for 100 – “These physical identifiers are often used to unlock a mobile device.”
A rousing game of NaviGo Jeopardy, created and expertly hosted by U.S. Bank’s Cyber Security Team, kept the NaviGo Scholars at the edge of their seats at NKU’s Griffin Hall on May 2.
It was the last meeting of the 2016-17 school year for the U.S. Bank NaviGo Scholars. Their sponsors wanted to end the season making memories and also testing the knowledge that students had picked up throughout the year.
“U.S. Bank didn’t shy away from giving us tasks that proved to be not only challenging, but also fun,” said NaviGo Scholar Timotheus Sieverding, a junior at Highlands High School. “They showed me the information and tools of today, and also made me feel significant, looking into a path not only for my future, but also in cyber security as a whole.”
Emma Nurre, a junior at Notre Dame Academy, said the U.S. Bank coaches have been making an impact from day one. “Our mentors hit the ground running from the first meeting, and since then have exposed us to many new topics and challenges in the field of cyber security.”
Charles Banks, U.S. Bank Assistant Vice President and Manager of Information Security, played “game show host,” standing in front of a bright blue wall of Cyber Security Trivia categories. Armed with buzzers that mimicked the on-air Jeopardy game, the NaviGo Scholars broke into three separate teams and competed for the title of Cyber Champion.
“In its purest sense, this has been a true partnership for our U.S. Bank Cyber Security team,” said Banks. “From our NaviGo Coach, Kathy Wuellner, offering advice on ways to best engage the students, to having this very sharp group of young adults share the imaginative ways they view our digital world, we’ve learned as much from them as they’ve learned from us, all demonstrated during our Cyber Jeopardy game. We had so much fun. It’s not every day I get to wear a sound activated light up tie to work.”
Skyward and U.S. Bank sponsored the group of students, all juniors from Beechwood, Highlands, and Notre Dame high schools, who have an interest in Cyber Security. The NaviGo Scholars program is designed to encourage students to explore their field of interest with career professionals by their side for real-world answers and hands-on activities. For company sponsors like U.S. Bank, the NaviGo Scholars program allows them to meet and mentor students who could potentially be future leaders in their field.
“To say we look forward to our continued mentoring of our group of students next school year, and with other NaviGo Scholar groups in the future, would be an understatement,” said Banks. “We’re excited about the path these students have found themselves on, and hope that as we continue to help them shape it, that it crosses the bank’s again as they set out to choose careers.”
“Our goal is to make an impact in the communities U.S. Bank calls home, and NaviGo is helping us do that,” added Tim Held U.S. Bank Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer. “Not only do we want to make our customers feel more secure in a rapidly evolving digital age, but we want to let the next generation of the local workforce know about the opportunities that exist in the field of Cyber Security. In a 2017 Korn Ferry study, they found that every dollar invested in human capital generated more than $11 in economic output. We want to invest in that human capital and it starts with these students.”
Kathy Wuellner, retired Dixie Heights High School counselor, is the NaviGo Coach for the U.S. Bank group. She said it was tough to decide who was having more fun during the competition – the students or the US Bank Team.
“The Jeopardy review game showcased the U.S. Bank Team’s commitment to planning creative and engaging sessions, as well as the students’ talents in learning cyber security defense principles and methods this year,” said Wuellner. “The teams became quite competitive as they neared the end of the game.”
The NaviGo Scholars will spend part of their senior year as a Cyber Security Team at U.S. Bank, solving and preventing breaches in security.
They’ve already tackled part of the task by solving the Jeopardy’s Cyber Security 101 clue with the correct answer: “What are biometrics.”
From NaviGo