{"id":201430,"date":"2026-04-01T23:19:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T03:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/01\/san-diego-city-college-student-determined-to-succeed-in-male-dominated-field-city-times\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T00:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T04:30:13","slug":"san-diego-city-college-student-determined-to-succeed-in-male-dominated-field-city-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/01\/san-diego-city-college-student-determined-to-succeed-in-male-dominated-field-city-times\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego City College student determined to succeed in male-dominated field \u2013 City Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Diego City College student determined to succeed in male-dominated field \u2013 City Times<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/sdcitytimes.com\/campus-life\/2026\/04\/01\/city-college-brenda-nguyen-cybersecurity\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-04-01 23:19:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: sdcitytimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
\n San Diego City College student Brenda Nguyen may not yet be ready for a full-time job, but at a recent professional conference, she walked through the career fair anyway.
\nThe cyber defense and analysis student in City\u2019s baccalaureate program connected with recruiters and learned what companies look for when hiring.
\nOne takeaway? The majority of jobs in the field aren\u2019t actually posted online, Brenda said.
\n\u201cIt is up to us to make connections and demonstrate our skills to professionals,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cIt is not enough to blindly send out resumes and hope one lands.\u201dStory continues below advertisement
\nCity College is helping women in cybersecurity translate classroom skills into professional careers, reinforcing its commitment to diversity and social justice in the male-dominated field.
\nPart of that includes opportunities like Nguyen had, which came at the Women in CyberSecurity Conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.
\n\u201cIt was very insightful and inspiring,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cThey create a warm and welcome environment for students, researchers and professionals. Everyone has their place there.\u201d
\nNguyen received scholarships from WICYS and Microsoft, which covered her lodging, meals and travel expenses for the conference, where more than 2,000 professionals gathered.
\nAttendees gather for a session at the WiCyS 2026 conference in Washington D.C., March 11-13, 2026. Among the more than 2,000 participants were students from San Diego City College, part of a national effort to empower women and encourage them to pursue careers in cybersecurity. Photo courtesy of Brenda Nguyen
\nWICYS, a nonprofit founded in 2014, focuses on advancing women in cybersecurity. This year\u2019s program emphasized artificial intelligence integration, with sessions on technical skills, career development and mentorship.
\nThe organization\u2019s efforts come as the cybersecurity industry continues to grapple with a significant gender imbalance, with women comprising only about a quarter of the global workforce.
\nAccording to a report published by the National Science Foundation Public Access Repository, the cybersecurity workforce lacks diversity.
\nThe field is predominantly men who are White or Asian. Only 10% identify as women, Latine, or Black, the report said.<\/p>\n

Nguyen also participates in WICYS\u2019s mentorship program as a mentee. Her mentor is a security operations center analyst at Meta, and they meet remotely once a month.
\nDespite the lack of diversity in the professional industry, Nguyen said she has never experienced discouragement or a negative stigma within City College\u2019s first baccalaureate program.
\n\u201cSan Diego City College has made its goal to make all students feel included,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cWith (computer information systems) professor David Kennemer as the director, I have felt my place is established within the cohort.\u201d
\nHer advice for other women considering cybersecurity is to sign up for WICYS, explore scholarship opportunities and don\u2019t be afraid to reach out.
\n\u201cA lot of women in the field are trying to support each other,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cOur presence is becoming more prevalent. Do not feel intimidated. You never know where you will find your next mentor.\u201d
\nShe encourages students to stay curious and seize opportunities even when they feel intimidated.
\n\u201cInaction will freeze you in fear,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cTake action. Immerse yourself in opportunities. Try out capture-the-flag competitions. Ask questions. That is how we learn and grow.\u201d
\nNew scholarship available for women studying cybersecurity, STEM
\nA new scholarship opportunity through Electronic Systems Engineering Technology (ESET) is now available for women pursuing cybersecurity and STEM fields. ESET is offering two $10,000 scholarships, with one award dedicated to a San Diego City recipient.
\nThe deadline to apply for the ESET scholarship is April 8, 2026, and recipients will be notified in summer 2026. Applicants must submit a 500-700-word personal essay, an unofficial transcript or acceptance letter, and one signed letter of recommendation.
\nThe program, now in its 11th year, aims to address the gender gap in the technology sector by providing financial assistance and mentorship to the next generation of cyber defenders, according to WICYS.
\nWinners are invited to join the Women in Cyber Scholarship Alumni Mentorship Program, which connects past and current scholars with mentorship opportunities.
\nMore information and the application can be found on the ESET scholarship website.
\nThis story was edited by David J. Bohnet and Tresean Osgood.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Diego City College student determined to succeed in male-dominated field \u2013 City Times https:\/\/sdcitytimes.com\/campus-life\/2026\/04\/01\/city-college-brenda-nguyen-cybersecurity\/…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":201431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/sdcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WICYSPOWER_VV_02.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[20,24],"class_list":["post-201430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-cybersecurity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201430"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201430"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201432,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201430\/revisions\/201432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}