On Aug 30, the pilot club Cyberpatriots hosted its first meeting in the SC Discovery Center. Andy Schramka ’18 formed the new club, that will focus on the process of competing in nationwide competitions in cyber security.

“Competitions are on weekends for six hours,” Roland Rondez ’18 said. “We have the opportunity of competing against schools all across the country.  The goal of the competition is to create the most secure computer through a given check list.”

The club uses software called VM Ware. This software serves as an emulator.

“If I had to describe it, it’s basically a computer within a computer,” Schramka said. “The great thing about it is any changes you make in the emulated computer won’t affect your actual computer.”

Schramka has participated in the Cyberpatriots organization, hosted by the Air Force Association, since eighth grade. He eventually left his former team with the goal of starting a competitive club at LT.

“I wanted to have a team to compete with while also teaching other students,” he said. “Hopefully, I can inspire other competitors to continue with the club and become more engaged with cyber security.”

Despite being declined his sophomore year, Schramka was determined to form the club. He submitted a form for organization again his junior year. When it was accepted, he then needed to find a faculty advisor.

“Many of the computer science teachers had already committed to other clubs,” club advisor and director of LT Technology services Ed Tennant said. “Mr. [Michael] Vasich and I have the resources to provide these students with successful technology skills and new security knowledge. It was a natural fit.”

Both Tennant and Vasich are assisting Schramka not only in teaching the material to interested students, but also invoking interest in new students.

“We have an opportunity to foster interest and pass along knowledge,” Tennant said. “We need to build a bond amongst other clubs at LT to strengthen the community. Human networking is crucial for student and school success. The more bridges you can build with people of common interests, the better your network of support will be.”

Competitions begin in late November and continue through January. The first two competitions are preliminary rounds to determine the team’s tier.

“We won’t be the national champions,” Tennant said. “We will give our best effort in the competitions, but we want to learn the process of competing first.”

Given current student interest, the club has enough members to have multiple competitive teams, each consisting of five to six competitors.

Each competitor has varying knowledge, according to Schramka. Some students are well adapted and ready to compete, while others need to learn more about the competition itself.

“You don’t need programming experience to be successful in our club,” he said. “It may help, but you can do everything without prior experience or knowledge in computer science. If you have an interest, you can do it and be successful.  It is accessible to everyone.”

Since Schramka graduates this year, the club will be losing its leader and founder. Despite the inevitable, the club is still focused on successfully completing their pilot year.

“I think the Cyberpatriots have great potential here at LT,” Tennant said. “I would like to see the club sustain well beyond Andy’s involvement, while also building off of his legacy.”

One of Schramka’s goals is to inspire underclassmen. He hopes that some will compete all four years, and use the information they learn to benefit LT and the community, Schramka said.

“If we can have vigilance with protections of electronic resources, we make LT, the community and even the nation stronger in terms of our protection,” Tennant said. “We have a group of students concerned about our cyber security, and that’s a promising sign.”