Hayden Housen of Pawling named Scholar with Honors in National Cyber Scholarship Competition
Pawling, NY, June 25, 2021 – Hayden Housen, a 12th grade student at Pawling High School, has been named a Scholar with Honors in the National Cyber Scholarship Competition (NCSC), a rigorous 48-hour online competition sponsored by The National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF). Housen was one of 30 Scholars with Honors out of more than 50,000 students nationwide who sought to qualify for the NCSC, with just 10% of students meeting the requirements to compete. The NCSC is a cybersecurity competition to solve computer security problems and/or capture and defend computer systems. Housen was the highest ranked student in New York State, achieving the distinction of Scholar with Honors. A complete list of Finalists, Scholars, and Scholars with Honors in the 2021 competition can be found at: https://www.nationalcyberscholarship.org/winners-2021
In recognition of his achievement, Housen – who was also named salutatorian of the Pawling High School class of 2021 – has earned an invitation to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy, a multi-week online program based on the nationally-recognized SANS Foundations training course and certification. He will also receive a $3,000 award for college. Housen plans to attend Cornell University College of Engineering in fall 2021 to pursue study related to artificial intelligence and computer science. Housen previously was recognized as a 2021 Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) Scholar for his original research in computer vision and machine learning. He was one of 300 STS scholars nationwide, each of whom earned a $2,000 award for their high school. Regeneron STS is “the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors… [celebrating] novel discoveries of young scientists who are bringing a fresh perspective to significant global challenges.” This year, there were 1760 applications to the competition.
About the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF)
The National Cyber Scholarship Competition is a ‘Capture the Flag’ (CTF) contest involving computer security puzzles and challenges that test students’ skills in password cracking, reverse-engineering, memory corruption, and cryptography. When players solve a challenge they earn a flag — a secret string of code that can be exchanged for points. The more points gained, the higher the competitor moves up in rank.
“The National Cyber Scholarship Competition recognizes high school students who have demonstrated exceptional cybersecurity prowess and who wish to pursue a career in a growing field in critical need of their talent,” noted David Brown, executive director, National Cyber Scholarship Foundation. “The NCSF mission is to identify and develop the next generation of cyber professionals. Each and every student who participated in this competition has the potential to develop their skills and build a successful career in cybersecurity.”
