Raytheon Company and the nonprofit Center for Cyber Safety and Education have awarded two female college students a $10,000 scholarship and a paid internship to develop their cybersecurity careers.
"This scholarship aims to attract and develop more young women in cybersecurity, and give them the opportunity to make an impact," said Jack Harrington, vice president of cybersecurity and special missions for Raytheon. "The cybersecurity talent shortage is real, and we must close the gender gap in this area if we are serious about addressing the cyber-related threats facing the country."
The two scholarship recipients are:
- Nicole Krantz, a freshman this fall at George Mason University, is enrolled in the cybersecurity engineering program. She is graduating from Florida Atlantic University High School, a special dual-enrollment school that allows her to earn college credits while she’s still in secondary school.
- Catherine McLean is a junior at Northeastern University and is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science. She also participates in the university’s co-op program and is currently working as an intern at Raytheon.
"With this partnership, the CCSE and Raytheon are actively supporting women who are focused on information security and giving them the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience," said Center Director Patrick Craven.
The Raytheon Women’s Cybersecurity Scholarship is the latest of the company’s efforts aimed at developing cyber talent around the world. Administered by CCSE, the Raytheon Women’s Cybersecurity Scholarship awards scholarships to two college students annually.
For the past three years, Raytheon has sponsored the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, the largest defense cyber competition in the US, and published pioneering research about millennials and cyber careers with the National Cyber Security Alliance.
