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Kennedy’s CyberPatriot Team Competes at State Level

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A team of six Kennedy High School students in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District formed this fall a CyberPatriot Team.  

“Our team has competed in the two qualifying rounds of the US Air Force Association’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition and achieved amazing results scoring among the top 18 percent of national teams and placing fifth among the NY State Open Division teams,” explained Science/STEM Chair Robert Soel. 

These outstanding results have earned them the honor of competing in the Platinum Tier of the State Round on Jan. 11 for a chance to enter the semifinals. The team includes Johnathon Ivers, Tyler Kealy, Chris Pranito, Jack Racer, Aiden Walden and Jared Weinstein. 

Weinstein, who is self-taught in high levels of cybersecurity, researched the competition and quickly helped Soel form a team to commence training.

“The team has met weekly during the fall semester to independently study and teach one and another via online learning programs and the Cisco Networking Academy,” added Soel.

They will continue to work together; training to build proficiency in the security details of Server 2016, Windows 10 and Linux Ubuntu 16 networks to prepare for the state round next month. 

“These kids are the next generation of cybersecurity specialists who are going to safeguard our computer systems at home, work and across the nation,” added Soel.

CyberPatriot, the Air Force Association’s National Youth Cyber Education Program, was created to motivate students toward careers in cybersecurity and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.

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