READING, Pa. — In recognition of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Penn State Berks will hold a Cybersecurity Discovery Day for Reading School District middle school students enrolled in the Penn State Educational Partnership Program (PEPP) from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 24 in Room 145, Thun Library. During the daylong program, middle school students will learn about online safety and security and careers in cyber security. Attendees will also have a chance to complete fun activities such as scrambling secret messages and deciphering codes. 

The curriculum of the workshop was designed by a grant from the National Security Agency’s GenCyber program, which aims to increase interest in cybersecurity careers and diversity in the cybersecurity workforce of the nation, help all students understand correct and safe online behavior and how they can be good digital citizens, and improve teaching methods for delivery of cybersecurity content in K-12 curricula. This program is sponsored by the Penn State Berks information sciences and technology and the security and risk analysis degree programs. Abdullah Konak, professor of information sciences and technology, is the workshop coordinator.

PEPP is an early-intervention collaboration between Penn State Berks and the Reading School District. The mission of the program is to enhance academic preparedness and motivation levels in its Reading School District participants to pursue higher education. PEPP also recruits and trains students from Penn State Berks, most of whom are elementary and early childhood education majors, to act as PEPP Learning Assistants (PLAs). In this role, the Penn State Berks students serve as tutors and mentors and are positive role models who lead and inspire the PEPP students.

For more information, contact Konak at 610-396-6310 or AUK3@psu.edu, or Guadalupe Kasper, PEPP program coordinator, at 610-396-6272 or GUR10@psu.edu.