PEOPLE IN CERTIFICATION
CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber
Defense Competition and a recent
trip through the Girls Go CyberStart
National Championships where they
placed first in Alabama and tied for
14th nationally. The competition was
made up of 120 teams from all 50
states and is designed to encourage
girls to enter the IT field.
After this issue of the magazine
goes to press, but before it gets de-
livered, several team members will
travel to Kentucky to participate in
the finals of the SkillsUSA National
Leadership and Skills Conference.
We’re going to venture a guess that
their performance there will add to
the already long list of honors they’ve
accrued.
One thing the SmurfAttack ladies
will not have to compete with is long-
term student debt for college. As a
group, they have won or been offered
scholarships from various institutions
totaling more than $1 million.
The Greek philosopher Diogenes
said, “The foundation of every state
is the education of its youth.” If Team
SmurfAttack’s skills, knowledge and
humility could be said to represent
the character and commitment of
students everywhere, then the foun-
dation of our country would be rock
solid. What follows is a mini-profile
of each girl, in her own words.
Kori Harris
Certifications: CompTIA A+, IT
Fundamentals, TestOut PC Pro, Net-
work Pro, Routing Pro, Switching Pro,
ALHEI Guest Services Gold Certifica-
tion in customer service. Working on
Linux Pro and Security Pro.
Awards: “I won a gold medal at the
Alabama SkillsUSA State Champion-
ships and a $2,000 scholarship. I also
won 1st place in Networking at the
JEFCOED Navigator’s Cup.”
Effective study habits: “Excessive
domain reviews before every practice
exam. I always try to get 90 percent
or better on each exam. I put in extra
study time outside of school. During
summer, I studied from 10 a.m. to 3
p.m., four days a week, and during
the school year I stayed after school
three times a week to study. It was
hard. Sometimes I just didn’t want to
study, but it was worth it in the end.”Extracurricular: “President of the
Computer Club, captain of the Cyber
Security team, Student Council Par-
liamentarian, and a member of Zeta
Nu Phi Sorority. I’m not sure when I
sleep, probably just occasionally. It’s
exhausting, but I really enjoy being
busy and being with friends.”
Why Mr. Rick’s class: “Didn’t
have a choice. I started the semester
late and it was the last class available.
Once I began working with comput-
ers, I quickly realized that I liked it.”
Educational and career goals: “I’m
attending Tuskegee University in the
fall and will study computer science.
I’m considering a career in cybersecu-
rity.”Toughest aspect of becoming cer-
tified: “Keeping a dedicated schedule
caused conflicts with other responsi-
bilities. My social life suffered. While
friends would go out to eat and see
movies, I went to practice. I constantly
had to prioritize all my extracurricular
activities.”
Best part of being certified: “The
satisfaction of knowing my hard work
paid off. I’ve never worked this hard
for anything. I felt so accomplished.”
Advice to other students: “Don’t
get discouraged if you run into trou-
ble. Just keep at it. The more you work
for it, the easier it will be and the more
satisfaction you’ll have in the end.”Mia SpeightsCertifications: PC Pro, Network
Pro, Switching Pro. Working on Rout-
ing Pro.
Favorite Cert: “I love PC Pro.
Computer management was my fa-
vorite topic, so it was so easy and fun
to earn. Switching Pro wasn’t bad to
complete either.”
Effective study habits: “Just kept
practicing. In class we had to average
at least 80 percent on labs before mov-
ing on to a new section. That was Mr.
Rick’s goal for us. I always tried to get
90 percent or better. Before each exam,
I really worked hard on the domains
and took every practice test. We had
to get a 95 percent on the practice
exam to sit for the real exam.”
Hobbies: “I enjoy reading teen
dramas like Twilight and The Outsiders.
I listen to Gospel and R&B music andDuring sum-
mer, I studied from
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
four days a week,
and during the
school year I stayed
after school three
times a week to
study. It was hard.