The Cyber Defense Club is not just a gathering of tech enthusiasts, but also a thriving community of cybersecurity education which meets every Thursday in room C210 at SC. Alexander Cuckovic ‘25 was recently awarded a scholarship including $3,000 applicable to participation in the “Cyber Foundations Academy.”

The scholarship was awarded to him through the same website which the club uses to practice basic concepts that will eventually be used in competitions, Cuckovic said.

The academy is a multi-week, mostly online program which is designed to help students build practical skills in computers, technology, and security. 

“It is basically a run through of most cyber security concepts both on the physical layer and inside of a computer,” Cuckovic said. “Namely encryption, decryption, a little bit of programming, and a basic rundown of both Linux and Windows is included in the online portion.” 

The online portion is divided into seven separate blocks, Cuckovic said. Each block contains its own compilation of videos, labs, and quizzes which test the users knowledge of the concept they just previously spent time learning. 

“I’m constantly learning new things through this club but the most enjoyable part of it all is the friendly environment that the club provides for everyone involved,” Cuckovic said. “Even the very first day I joined the club last year, I immediately felt included and was able to quickly make good friends.” 

The club actively competes among other high schools and colleges by partaking in competitions such as CyberPatriot, CyberFire, and CyberCup. These various competitions not only challenge members’ skills but also provide valuable hands-on experience, club member Lochlan McElroy ‘24 said. 

“We placed first against six other college teams at the CyberFire competition,” McElroy said. LT’s Cyber Defense Club is not only the smallest team in many of the competitions but also the only high school representative, as opposed to the college club teams, McElory said. 

The club has been tasked with researching and selecting next school year’s Chromebooks which will be used by all students throughout the next few school years. 

“It’s exciting to know that we as a cyber club can contribute and give back to this school in many valuable and unique ways,” McElroy said.