Maplewood Resident Takes Top Honor in Cybersecurity Competition

Maplewood resident Anthony Karels was named a finalist in the U.S. Cyber FastTrack competition, a three-stage program designed to identify top cybersecurity talent from colleges and universities across the nation. Karels, who is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in software development from Western Governors University (WGU), exceled in the competition and finished as one of the top 100 finalists. For his efforts, Karels was awarded a $25,000 scholarship that can be applied to tuition at the SANS Institute for an Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity, giving him the opportunity to be trained among the top cybersecurity experts in the country.

The Cyber FastTrack competition, hosted by the SANS Institute and designed by world leaders in cybersecurity, allows students to test their aptitude in an environment that stimulates the types of cybersecurity challenges necessary to secure our nation’s most sensitive information. The program is endorsed by 26 state governors as a national initiative to help identify top talent and close the U.S. cybersecurity skills gap. Nearly 13,000 candidates competed in this year’s Cyber FastTrack competition, which began in April and ended in October. Karels and 18 other students from WGU’s College of Information Technology were named finalists – the most of any institution.

“The fact that so many WGU students were finalists is a testament to the professional nature of WGU’s program and shows that there are many non-traditional students who are fully capable of performing at the highest levels in the industry,” said Karels. “Being accepted into the scholarship program was pretty amazing. It’s extremely gratifying to know that my hard work paid off by securing such an awesome opportunity. Although I am not pursuing a degree in cyber security, I believe that this scholarship will help round out my knowledge in this important area of computing and allow me to code more secure applications.”

According to CyberSeek, which is funded by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), the U.S. is facing a growing shortfall of cybersecurity professionals – nearly 314,000 as of January 2019. This talent gap reinforces a need for workers to be trained to protect sensitive information, from individual bank accounts to Department of Defense communications. Closing the widening talent gap will take a concerted and collaborative effort from education, business, and government organizations. WGU, a leading educator of current and aspiring cybersecurity professionals, is helping to fill that gap. More than 5,500 students are currently enrolled in its bachelor’s or master’s cybersecurity degree programs and approximately 2,800 cybersecurity graduates are already in the workforce.

“We’re so proud of Anthony and our other students for their hard work over the past several months, demonstrating their talent and earning recognition as top finalists in the Cyber FastTrack competition,” said Dr. Angie Besendorfer, Regional Vice President of WGU’s Midwest Region. “The nation needs more highly skilled professionals to enter the cybersecurity industry, and I am happy to say our students are well prepared for long-lasting careers in the cybersecurity field. We are thankful for programs like Cyber FastTrack, which highlight high-demand fields like cybersecurity and provide opportunities for students to excel.”

For more information about WGU and its cybersecurity programs, visit www.wgu.edu.