Randolph-Macon College student Morgan Davis ’18 has been awarded a Cyb “her” Geek Scholarship by the Cybersecurity Diversity Foundation. Davis is the first recipient of the $5000 scholarship award, which is given to a college student of diversity pursuing studies in cybersecurity.

The Cybersecurity Diversity Foundation
The Cybersecurity Diversity Foundation, founded by former director of US-CERT and founder of MKA Cyber Mischel Kwon, endeavors to engage and provide opportunity and access to all who are interested not only in security careers, but in taking a leadership role in the industry.

The Foundation, with its mission to support educational and workplace diversity in the field of cybersecurity, officially debuted on March 1, 2016 in San Francisco, California during the RSA Women’s Leadership Forum Reception, which also featured a Women in Technology International and Executive Women’s Forum. Davis was presented the award during the reception.

From Internship to Scholarship
Davis, from Suffolk, Virginia, is a computer science major and studio arts minor who interned with Kwon during January Term (J-term) 2016. She secured the internship with the help of RMC Computer Science Professor John McManus ’84.

“Mischel spoke in Professor McManus’ class last fall,” explains Davis. “I was really interested in all she had to say—and I really enjoyed the perspective she had on the importance of cybersecurity.” During her internship, Davis was responsible for several projects that required writing Python code, a programming language. She also shadowed several MKA employees and learned about automated SOC processes. An SOC is a facility in which enterprise information systems (web sites, applications, databases, data centers and servers, networks, and desktops) are monitored, assessed and defended.

“We are very proud of Morgan, as she demonstrated a great deal of discipline and impressed Mischel during her internship,” says McManus. “Mischel contacted me several times during J-term to provide positive feedback on Morgan’s work. It is always great to have our students recognized, and this is a national honor. We are very lucky to have companies like MKA host our internships.”

Davis, who plans on pursuing a master’s degree in computer information systems, was surprised and humbled to learn that she was the first recipient of the Cyb “her” Geek Scholarship.

“I was ecstatic,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting it at all. The internship opportunity was rewarding enough!”