Elite CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service Program Continues to Attract Top Students

The NJIT Secure Computing Initiative (SCI), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), has selected five top students to join the highly selective NSF CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) Program in fall 2022. The competitive program includes a scholarship covering full tuition and fees for up to three years beginning during the junior or senior year towards a MS degree in either cybersecurity and privacy or IT administration and security along with an annual $25,000 – $34,000 stipend and allowance of up to $6,000 for professional development. In return, recipients must successfully maintain a high academic standing, complete summer internships and work full-time in a cybersecurity-related role in the U.S. Government for each year they have been part of the program.

Benefiting from its designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the NSA/DHS, the Ying Wu College of Computing (YWCC) recently received a grant of $4.6 million from the NSF to support the second edition of this program at NJIT.

The overarching goal of the program is to increase the nation’s workforce skilled in cybersecurity by recruiting, training, and placing qualified students in government jobs.

Qualifying students may apply to the program in their junior or senior year or as a first-year graduate student following a rigorous application and review process.

YWCC is proud to announce the fall 2022 cohort, selected from an impressive applicant pool:

Justin Binu ’22 (Information Technology) and Beck Gozdenovich, a senior majoring in Computer Engineering, will pursue the M.S. in Cybersecurity and Privacy; Daniel Daszkiewicz ’22 (Information Technology), junior Amanda Vogt and senior John Zabriskie, both majoring in Information Technology, have chosen the M.S. in IT Administration and Security.

Prof. Cristian Borcea of the Computer Science department, who co-directs the program, remarked, “The scholarship removes all financial burden, so we expect the students to excel academically and participate fully in extracurricular cybersecurity initiatives. They need to go above and beyond what they do in the classroom.”

While each student had their personal reasons for applying to the program, they all have a shared desire to use their skills to give back to society. As Vogt puts it, she desires to “be part of something that matters.” Gozdenovich comes from a legacy of family service in the military, so working for the government is his way of serving the country by helping to protect its infrastructure.

Learning more and challenging themselves is another common goal. “I want to get back the two years I lost during COVID. Getting my master’s will allow me to learn beyond the B.S. and make up for that time,” said Daszkiewicz.

Backgrounds related to cybersecurity vary within the group. Daszkiewicz currently works as an information technology assistant for the Bernard’s School District, and Binu has helped build a secure network for a small company where none had previously existed.

According to Gozdenovich, he had “zero experience” in cybersecurity; however, candidates are chosen based on a combination of academic achievement and potential, career goals, a clear statement of purpose for entering the field, and personal character, among other criteria.

Although all in the group were secure in their skills, they agreed that the interview process was a daunting one where their confidence was challenged at times.

One student described it as a “whirlwind fever dream,” and several echoed that sentiment as one of the more nerve-wracking experiences due to the importance they placed on being invited to a program that could well change their lives.

But strength in your convictions is critical when security and safety are in your hands, and affirmative responses to some otherwise difficult questions convinced the faculty that they had indeed found the right candidates.

As the fall semester begins, all five students eagerly await the opportunity to prove that they have rightfully earned their place as a member among the nation’s most prestigious university program for preparing tomorrow’s changemakers in cybersecurity.

We feel safer already.