A teacher from the Edmonton area has received an award for his dedication to getting his students involved in cybersecurity. Gerald Chung, coach for Old Scona Academic High School’s cybersecurity club, was named CyberPatriot XVI’s Coach of the Year for 2023–2024.
CyberPatriot, a national youth cyber education program based in the United States, was developed by the Air & Space Forces Association as a way of getting K–12 students interested in pursuing careers in cybersecurity and other science sectors. Chung’s own interest in this area has grown over the years.
“I’ve always been a tech person,” Chung says. “Cybersecurity has kind of moved to the forefront in the last five to seven years, and so I wanted to further my tech background, not just in coding or networking, and cybersecurity was just the thing coming on at the time.”
Chung teaches cybersecurity as a class, and the students in that class can then apply to be in the CyberPatriot Club, an extracurricular activity he coaches on his own time. He receives dozens of applications for the club each year for 48 sought-after spots.
Consisting of eight teams of six competitors, the club at Old Scona has had many successes, including having the top Canadian team in the CyberPatriot’s international competition and finishing first in the CyberTitan Canadian National Finals last year. Competitions consist of teams preventing hacking and looking at vulnerabilities in Windows, Linux and server systems
“Our all-girls team has won nationals the last six years in a row,” Chung says with a smile. “We always have an all-girls team now. I’m trying to promote girls in the program, too.”
Remarking on society’s reliance on digital software, Chung stresses the importance of students learning cybersecurity today and going forward. He says he feels fortunate to help students develop and apply their knowledge in the cybersecurity field and is excited to see where it takes them.
And it is thanks to his students that he is receiving this recognition now.
“When kids nominate you, it just makes you feel a lot better, you know … the kids took the initiative.”
Always the team player, Chung adds that he sees his Coach of the Year Award as a win for his team at the school.
“To me, it’s more a team award,” Chung says, “I have very passionate students, and I have supportive teachers and administration at Old Scona.”
