CybHER Security camp celebrated its 10th year this summer

More than 100 middle school girls from several states gathered this summer at Dakota State University in Madison to take part in the 10th GenCyber Girls in CybHER Security camp.  

The event spans five days and is full of different lectures and hands-on activities that encourage the girls to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering or math. 

A CybHER report from 2020 says the number of female freshmen in the Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences at Dakota State increased by more than 300% between 2013 and 2019. 

Ashley Podhradsky co-founded CybHER and says a lot of girls who are curious about cybersecurity tend to lose interest by high school. 

She says that’s why it is important for middle school girls to see successful women with careers in STEM.

In addition to the annual camp, the CybHER organization also has a traveling program for children and their parents on nine Native American reservations across the state.