News

Team prepares for national contest

Baker College of Flint IT students took first place in the 2009 Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, held March 26-29 at Inver Hills Community College in Minnesota. As winners of the regional competition, the Baker students have earned the right to participate in the national competition in San Antonio in mid April, and will defend their 2008 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition championship title.

“We are so proud of this dedicated group of students, their instructors and advisors,” said Julianne T. Princinsky, Ed.D., Baker College of Flint president. “Once again, our students demonstrated what hard work and commitment can accomplish.”

The eight competitors from Baker College of Flint included:

• Brandon Hladysh, team captain, of Lapeer
• Ryan Noblett, of Lapeer
• James Olson, of Flint
• Matthew Wheatley, of Birch Run
• Lawrence Hubbard, of Flint
• Eric Ignash, of Elkton
• Tommy Hamilton, of Goodrich
• Rory Gallagher, of San Francisco, California

The Baker students competed against teams from colleges and universities throughout the Midwest, including DePaul University, Rhodes State College (Lima, Ohio), Indiana Tech, Alexandria Technical College and Inver Hills Community College.

“When he announced the results, the chief judge indicated that we won by quite a few points,” said Van Scott, Baker College of Flint instructor and cyber defense team advisor. “Our students deserve a lot of credit. They have literally put in hundreds of hours of practice and will continue their strenuous schedule in preparation for the national competition.”

In addition to Baker College of Flint, the “elite eight” teams competing in the upcoming national event include the University of Pittsburgh, Dakota State University, Northeastern University of Boston, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Texas A&M and California State Polytechnic University at Pomona. The Northwest region has not yet named a winner.

“This will be a very challenging event,” said Scott. “The team from the University of North Carolina won in 2006 and Texas A&M in 2007. As we prepare to defend our title, we can be assured that they will fight to regain the championship.”

The Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) focuses on the operational aspect of managing and protecting an existing commercial network infrastructure. The students have an opportunity to test their knowledge in an operational environment and also network with government and industry professionals who are searching for prospective computer and computer/network security specialists. CCDC provides a unique opportunity for students to interact with varied organizations and discuss many of the security and operational challenges they will face when they enter the job market. Baker College of Flint also benefits, as CCDC officials provide direct feedback about security and information technology curriculum.

Sponsors of the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competitions include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service and other government agencies, as well as numerous computer-oriented private enterprises.

The national competition will be held April 17-19 in San Antonio, Texas.