Congratulations to Nova Beal-Pengelly! 2024 vCISO Cybersecurity Scholarship Winner

Author: Ed Dante

Congratulations to Central Washington University Freshman Nova Beal-Pengelly on being awarded Fractional CISO’s 2024 vCISO Cybersecurity Scholarship! Fractional CISO Founder & CEO Rob Black presented her the award in a video call.

Nova’s interest in technology began in second grade, and she had multiple opportunities to immerse herself in IT and cybersecurity throughout her primary education. She has one of the most unique encryption stories to ever come from a middle schooler!

I don’t want to spoil it – so please read her cybersecurity journey, in her own words, below.

Nova Beal Pengelly’s Cybersecurity Journey

To me, Cybersecurity means helping our society protect itself, both from internal and external threats.

I began my journey towards Cybersecurity in second grade. At that time, I was ahead in math, so I joined an experimental coding group at my school. A newfound passion for learning how technology worked lit my mind with possibility. I attended Teck Trek in middle school at my local community college, where I “majored” in Cybersecurity there. I remember staying up until two in the morning trying to convert a thank you note to the teacher into bit five binary, and through a six-step encryption process we had learned. I found an issue with the encryption method, a vulnerability that was printed into the basics of the encryption textbook. I fondly recall the look on my professor’s face when I told her about the vulnerability. Once I went into high school, I reached out to Girl Security, a wonderful organization that partnered me with a mentor, who has mentored me 2020-present. I’ve studied networks, and have built my desktop computer, with funds I earned through an internship at a local web design company, (Farewell Media 3-4 months).

I am fervently passionate about ethical practices in technology. In a world where technology is constantly advancing—the general population must understand how the technology they rely on everyday functions. Without this knowledge—how the technology around us works, and how we can protect ourselves and others from countless threats—we will be defenseless.

Cybersecurity is my answer, my passion. I want to improve our society and our world, and I know I can achieve this by extending my hand to bridge the knowledge gap. By building a bridge over the chasm, and helping people understand their rights to their data, and how they can annihilate passivity in the face of the unknown. I have a foundation, and yet I lack structure and knowledge. I seek guidance on my journey.

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