Student starts organization to encourage more female students into Cybersecurity field

In an effort to encourage more girls to become interested in cyber technology, cybersecurity student Nghi Nguyen started the student chapter of Women in Cybersecurity at Collin College.

When I started attending my cybersecurity classes at Collin College, the majority of the students in my classes were male, Im sometimes the only female student in the class, Nguyen said. And when I talked to other female students about the tech field, most of them feel like its not for them, or they cant do it. It was discouraging for me, and I wanted to do something that would encourage and uplift other young women to pursue a tech career in cybersecurity.

Nguyen joined the Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) organization and competed in the programs they offered, and she even won scholarships. Nguyen had the opportunity to attend their annual conference in 2021 in Denver, Colorado, and what she saw there, she said, further inspired her.

There were hundreds of other female professionals there supporting and encouraging one another, sharing workshop and training information, it was amazing, Nguyen said. This is it. This is what we need. A lot of girls and women are hesitant to join because of the stigma of women not being in IT or STEM. They would be more willing to join if they saw other female students or professionals.

Nguyen attended a workshop at the conference where she heard how other students from around the world started their own WiCyS student chapters at their universities. That was the encouragement that Nguyen needed to start the student chapter at Collin.

When Nguyen returned to the college, she and another student presented the idea to several advisors, and the WiCyS student chapter at Collin was started. Since starting in the Spring of 2022, the group now has up to 40 members and still growing.

Tara Lewis is a program career/workforce coach at Collin for the FLEXTech grant, which prepares students for and connects them with internships and apprenticeships in IT and Cybersecurity. Lewis said shes known about WiCyS for a while, and when Nguyen came to her about starting the student chapter, she had to jump on the opportunity.

I think its important for students to be able to access and get involved with professional organizations. It allows them to find mentors, learn about the industry, and network, Lewis said. WiCyS is open to all genders and seeks to advance women in cybersecurity. Having a chapter of WiCyS on campus provides further support and representation and a larger global community for students to connect.

The Collin Chapter has been joining forces with the Collin NTXISSA student chapter to organize events, host speakers, and get involved in the cybersecurity community. As part of the larger organization, WiCyS offers security training scholarships, Amazon Web Services (AWS) security jams, AWS game days, security simulations, Veteran Apprenticeships, mentorship, and more.

Nadia Bilal is a cybersecurity professor at Collin and the primary advisor for the group. She said being a part of the WiCyS has opened a whole new world for her to empower students to discover the hidden talents women bring to the cybersecurity field.

For me, its a path and purpose of life for women to grow in cybersecurity, Bilal said. WiCyS at Collin College encourages women to be stronger, prouder, and more independent in a male-dominated field such as cybersecurity.

Nguyen plans to graduate next December with her Bachelor of Applied Technology in Cybersecurity at Collin. While here, as the first president of WiCyS, she wants to build a solid foundation for it to continue growing even after shes graduated.

My goal is that the chapter would keep on growing, accrue more members, and contribute to that over-arching goal of building a community here at Collin College of female students, and other students, to have more women in cyber, Nguyen said.

For students interested in joining the WiCyS student chapter, please visit https://collin.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/collinwicys.