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This spring, Morgan State University student Dirichi Nwanegwo participated in The Washington Center (TWC)’s first Cybersecurity Accelerator Program. Nwanegwo, a freshman, Electrical Engineering major, was one of 34 students representing 23 institutions nationwide, to be selected for the program.

TWC’s Cybersecurity Accelerator Program was designed to engage historically marginalized learners with career exploration, mentorship and networking in the fastest growing and rewarding field of cybersecurity. Thanks to scholarships provided by select states along with private donors, this program was available at no cost to students.

Participants were invited to join The Cyber Guild for a digital Cyber Discovery Experience and to travel to Washington, D.C. for a Cybersecurity Bootcamp Weekend. As part of this weekend experience, students heard from representatives from The White House, United States Cyber Command, CISA (among others) and were able to network with over 35 employers. They also had the opportunity to tour the Verizon Tech and Policy Center and AWS Skills Center.

Through this program, many participants were also selected for a virtual micro-internship by a cybersecurity employer, where they received a financial stipend, worked with an employer supervisor and gained access to Teach to Work trained project-based mentorship.

“TWC is focused on creating flexible, stackable and accessible experiential-learning programs that break the traditional internship model. Our goal is to allow learners who might otherwise not be able, a chance at the experiences and connections that create pathways to careers,” said Kim Churches, President of The Washington Center.

The Washington Center is the largest and most established student internship program in Washington, D.C. Since its founding, the Center has helped more than 60,000 young people translate their college majors into career paths, using its scale and expertise to customize each student’s experience to be truly transformative.

Congratulations to Dirichi Nwanegwo on his selection and for taking advantage of this unique experiential learning experience, setting the stage for future success!