DSU students named CyberCorps Scholars

Eleven Dakota State University students have been named CyberCorps Scholars for 2020-2021.

A scholarship for service program, CyberCorps, provides students with a full-ride scholarship, as well as a yearly stipend of 25-thousand dollars for undergraduate students and 34-thousand dollars for graduate students.  It also includes six-thousand dollars in professional development funding, books, and supplies. In return, the students work for a federal, state, local, or tribal government in a cybersecurity role for a period equal to the length of the scholarship.

 CyberCorps was created under the Federal Cyber Service Training and Education Initiative to give agencies an advantage in recruiting and training cybersecurity professionals. There are 77 schools in the program nationwide.  

Since the program’s inception at DSU in 2011, CyberCorps has supported 102 students, including the incoming group.  This year, there will be a total of 28 DSU students in the program.

The 2020-2021 CyberCorps cohort members who wish to be named include:

• Keinen Bousquet, computer science major, Madison, S.D.
• Skylar Hagen, computer science major, Aberdeen, S.D.
• Hope Johnson, computer science and mathematics double major, Wakonda, S.D.
• Rayanne Liester, cyber operations major, Baltic, S.D.
• Alexander Maxey, computer science and computer game design double major, Phoenix, Ariz.
• Nicholas Medema, cyber operations major, Inwood, Iowa
• Blake Nedved, computer science major, Spirit Lake, Iowa
• Nick Offerman, network and security administration major, Atlanta, Mich.
• Chase Opsahl, cyber operations major, Aberdeen, S.D.