Albritton Students Strengthen Cyber Skills Through National Competition
Students in the Albritton Middle School STEAM Club are gaining hands-on experience in one of the world’s most critical and fast-growing fields: cybersecurity. Under the guidance of STEAM sponsor Karen Pozniak-Robins, Albritton’s newly formed CyberPatriot team is competing in the Air & Space Forces Association’s national CyberPatriot program, the largest youth cybersecurity competition in the world. This year, the team is competing against 427 middle school teams nationwide as they work to advance through multiple rounds toward the national finals.
For Pozniak-Robins, bringing CyberPatriot to Albritton was an intentional step toward expanding the school’s technology offerings and giving students access to rigorous, real-world problem-solving opportunities rarely seen at the middle school level. “CyberPatriot is an excellent fit for our STEAM/STEM Club because it strengthens the technology component of our program and provides students with unique, hands-on opportunities to develop critical skills,” she said. “The competition introduces challenging, real-world cybersecurity scenarios that students would not typically encounter at the middle school level, fostering problem-solving, teamwork, and technical proficiency.”
During the competition, students work through timed digital forensics questions and operate as cybersecurity analysts, locating vulnerabilities inside virtual machines and hardening operating systems to protect them from potential threats. In their most recent round, students were tasked with identifying and securing more than 20 system vulnerabilities across Windows 11 and Linux Mint v21 environments. Each resolved issue earns points, challenging students to think critically, communicate clearly, and collaborate under pressure. For the upcoming state finals, the team will take on an even more advanced set of systems, including Windows Server 2022, Mint v21, and Ubuntu v24, systems commonly used across government and defense networks.
Eighth-grader Theodore Regalado shared how the experience is helping him grow not only as a student but as a thinker. “I like solving problems, especially when things aren’t straightforward. I had to figure them out myself,” he said. “Having a teammate helps because we can solve the problem together. I’m excited for the next round and just want to keep getting better at it.” Students Kylie Hinton (8th), Theodore Regalado (8th), Jeannette Bary (8th), Sentrell King (8th), Ash Guibeau (6th), and Sophia Spears (6th) form this year’s inaugural team.
Cybersecurity continues to play a vital role in protecting the nation’s infrastructure, including the networks and systems relied upon by military communities around the world. As the educational arm of the Department of Defense, DoDEA is uniquely positioned to help students build early interest and foundational skills in fields that directly support the nation’s readiness. By engaging in CyberPatriot, Albritton students are not only learning how to secure digital systems, but also developing confidence, communication skills, and the collaborative mindset essential for modern STEM careers.
For the students, the competition is more than a technical challenge; it is an opportunity to grow alongside teammates, learn from mistakes, and experience firsthand how persistence leads to progress. As the team prepares for the next round, their excitement continues to build, strengthened by the knowledge that they are competing on a national stage and contributing to an emerging pipeline of future cybersecurity professionals.
