Hillman Students Support the Second Small Business Annual CyberSecurity Xchange Summit

Six current Hillman students—five from Montgomery College and one from University of Maryland–volunteered for the 2^nd Annual American Small Business Cybersecurity Xchange Summit on October 12 at the Silver Spring Civic Center. This yearly event brings together profound leaders from government and industry as well as CEOs and key executives in a one of a kind forum. The theme this year was, Preparing for Current and Emerging Threats.
Through this event the students gained insight about current and emerging threats in organizations, available cybersecurity resources/tools, and supply chain requirements for cybersecurity. In addition to observing speakers and panelists, the Hillman students also had the opportunity to meet with e-Management CEO, Ms. Ola Sage, the recipient of the 2017 Stevie Gold Winner as the Computer Services Executive of the Year.
Feedback from e-Management, which sponsored the event, was outstanding. In her followup, Executive Assistant Robyn Cassidy noted, “many times without prompting [the Hillman students] took it upon themselves to clear tables and the conference rooms of trash, assist with food service in various aspects, assist attendees and speakers with any requests, and in general were helpful in any way asked of them. And they each presented themselves professionally, in dress and in manner….  Everyone was very impressed by them; the company event staff, the attendees, the CEO of CyberRx, and the President of e-Management.  They will most certainly be our first choice of volunteers when we have our conference next year.”
Student feedback was also enthusiastic: Bob Okorojuzie (far left in the photo) praised the event, noting that “speaking with attendees, executives, and the of CEO e-manage not only built my networking skills, but allowed me to see the importance of cybersecurity for future business ideas.”  Likewise, Pablo Garcia Beltran (far right) noted the connection between cybersecurity and innovation and the role of a positive corporate culture om a company’s ability to ward off cyber threats and concluded “in the future I hope to see myself implementing these ideas effectively.” Pablo also picked up tips on effective teamwork and organization and the fact that CEOs are “like any other people!” Other students in attendance include (left to right) Wasique Iqbal, Ahn Nguyen, Annick Tentchou, and Jonell Malone.