Augusta University cybersecurity student named Undergraduate Student of the Year by national organization

Kaleb Worku, a senior cybersecurity student in the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences at Augusta University, has been named the 2022 Undergraduate Student of the Year by Blacks in Cybersecurity, a meetup group and conference series that elevates the Black community in cybersecurity. 

According to the latest edition of the (ISC)² Global Information Security Workforce Study, although minority representation within the cybersecurity profession is slightly higher than the overall U.S. minority workforce, “employment among cybersecurity professionals who identify as a racial or ethnic minority tends to be concentrated in non-management positions, with fewer occupying leadership roles, despite being highly educated.” 

Therefore, organizations like Blacks in Cybersecurity exist to provide resources and opportunities to Black and African American cyber professionals.  

“I dedicate this award to the Lord for his grace; to Augusta University, the Augusta University School of Computer and Cyber Sciences and Lakeside High School for providing me invaluable opportunities to discover that I wanted to pursue this promising field as a career; to my mentors, professors, counselors, and teachers for their wealth of wisdom, knowledge and guidance in contributing to my growth; and to my amazing family and friends for their support and care,” Worku said in a recent post.  

“I hope that I inspire an incoming or current student in the Black community to consider pursuing a career in cyber,” he continued. 

This is not the first time Worku has been recognized for his undergraduate work. He was awarded the prestigious CyberCorps Scholarship for Service in 2021 — one of just seven recipients from Augusta University. 

In 2020, he also won a $10,000 Black Americans in Cybersecurity Scholarship offered by KnowBe4, a company that provides the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform. 

Worku is interested in medical device security, computer forensics, threat and security analysis, cryptography, incidence response and systems engineering.