Cadets graduate cyber academy

MAXWELL AFB, Ala. - Twenty-four high school cadets were among the first class of cadets to (virtually) graduate from the inaugural Air Force Junior ROTC Cyber Academy on Aug. 5. The cadets built skills in state-of-the-art computing and cybersecurity under the supervision of instructors from Mississippi State University and the Whatcom Community College’s Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance and Cyber Defense. The Cyber Academy is one part of a partnership between AFJROTC and CSforALL to increase the number of high schools with advanced placement computer science. The cadets, juniors and seniors, each earned three college credits from MSU and prepared for the COMPTIA IT Fundamentals certification exam. The value of the AFJROTC Cyber Academy scholarship is $8,000., which are provided as an incentive for AFJROTC cadets to be involved in computer science activities and classes.  AFJROTC’s goal is to grow talent and workforce development to ensure AFJROTC cadets are competitive for college or technical career choices.  Students received a pre-recorded congratulatory message from Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett. Gulf Coast regional graduates are Joy Adair and Makayla Davis of Aberdeen (Miss.) High School; Jason Loretz, Prattville (Ala.) High School; Ashlyn Preston and Zoe Racz of Choctawhatchee High School in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; and Abigail Warren of Bob Jones High School in Madison, Ala. AFJROTC operates in almost 900 high schools with more than 120,000 cadets. For more information, visit https://www.csforall.org/projects_and_programs/jrotc/