Booz Allen, SVA and Portfolium Host Cyber Challenge to Help Veterans in College Set Themselves Apart

While veterans’ military work experience and passion for service to our country can set them apart from traditional university students in the job market, veterans currently enrolled in higher education can also find it challenging to translate their military experience into workforce-relevant skills.

Employers are accustomed to scanning a resume for relevant certifications to determine proficiency. But shouldn’t there be an alternative way for non-traditional students to demonstrate their expertise?  Student Veterans of America (SVA), a non-profit group with a mission to help veterans succeed in higher education, is working to provide just that.

For the month of October, National Cybersecurity Month, SVA has partnered with technology consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton and ePortfolio platform Portfolium to host the Cyber Security Challenge, an online challenge for veterans currently enrolled in higher education.

Through experiential learning, veterans in higher education can showcase their cybersecurity skills outside of their traditional degrees and certifications in a new age of cybersecurity. Entrants are encouraged to show how they would augment cybersecurity degree programs and certifications by providing written, visual, and/or technical case studies or recommendations that can accelerate the experiential learning process in cybersecurity.

“As student veterans, our unique experiences and ideas have been pushing society forward for decades,” said James Schmeling, Executive Vice President of Student Veterans of America. “SVA is dedicated to helping student veterans translate their military experience into success in higher education and the job market. We encourage student veterans to enter the challenge and show us what you can do!”

This challenge, which began October 1^st, will accept submissions through November 10^th. Student entries will be judged and three winners will be selected. The first place winner will receive a cash prize $2,500, and the opportunity to visit the Booz Allen Hamilton Innovation Center in Washington, DC and present their winning solution.

To learn more about the Booz Allen Hamilton Cyber Security Challenge, visit the official Portfolium Challenge page at https://portfolium.com/challenge/CyberSecurityChallenge for entry and more information. For Student Veterans of America members, enter the challenge here: https://studentveterans.portfolium.com.