Northside students gain knowledge of UTSA’s cybersecurity and intern programs

Students from the Northside School of Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship visited UTSA to look at the university's various experiential opportunities.

APRIL 22, 2022 — A recent campus visit offered students of one magnet school an up-close look at the various experiential opportunities UTSA has to offer — as well as giving university students a chance to hone their communications skills.

Members of the University Tech Solutions (UTS) Bold Careers Ambassador and Internship Program welcomed students from the Northside School of Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (NSITE), a business and technology high school within the Northside Independent School District.

The visit was a prime opportunity for the NSITE students to see the campus and visit with Bold Careers participants, according to Vanessa Kenon, associate vice president of Technology Compliance and Community Engagement for UTS.

The Bold Careers Program offers on-campus and virtual internship experiential learning opportunities including publications, projects and presentations for academic credit. The students link these projects to their professional resumes.

“ I felt inspired to see so many high schoolers interested and passionate about information technology.”

A group of high schoolers from the Northside School of Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship had the opportunity to visit the campus and speak to members of the University Tech Solutions (UTS) Bold Careers Ambassador and Internship Program.

The NSITE tour included a visit to the Cyber Range at the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, where students practice simulations of real-life security threats in a secure environment. The NSITE students learned about the virtualized corporate servers and the types of simulations conducted in UTSA’s virtual Security Operations Center.

The high school students also visited the Digital Experience (DEx) Laboratory, a shared interactive classroom and training facility located in the Applied Engineering and Technology Building (AET). There, UTSA students discussed their roles with the program, campus life and their career plans post-graduation. 

"I enjoyed assisting students during the field trip, and I had fun sharing my experience with UTS as a publications intern, as well as answering any questions the students had about UTSA's resources,” UTSA intern Dominique Salinas said. “I felt empowered to be a part of an organization and school that has a nationally recognized cybersecurity program, and I was grateful to be a part of this event. I felt inspired to see so many high schoolers interested and passionate about information technology, and feel hopeful that the next generation of IT professionals will be passionate about what they do."

The NSITE students were incredibly impressed with the student ambassadors and the major roles they play on the UTSA campus, said Teri Pulido, program coordinator for the Northside magnet school. “They cannot wait to attend UTSA and be part of their program."

— Clowey Adams, Danielle Schramm, Hillary Jean-Baptiste and Perla Garcia