After spending several years as a truck driver, Josh Stephenson’s wife had finally had enough of his long stretches away from home.
“So, she told me I was going to school,” he said. “I've always been interested in computers and cybersecurity was also an interest of mine, so I decided that’s what I was going to do.”
Stephenson, who lives in Cheyenne, enrolled in Laramie County Community College’s cybersecurity program. According to the National Cyber Strategy, which outlines the nation’s approach to cybersecurity, the U.S. faces a critical shortage of cybersecurity talent, but institutions like LCCC are playing a crucial role in filling that gap.
Recently the two-year institution was designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) by the National Security Agency, a recognition that validates the college’s cybersecurity curriculum and opens doors to career opportunities for students. LCCC is the only institution in Wyoming to hold the designation.
“I think it's awesome,” current student Shawn Broad said. “It definitely gives us a step up when it comes to looking for jobs in the future. And you can't get into one of those big three-letter organizations like the CIA, NSA and FBI without that. It is also a testament to what they've been doing with the program and how they've been constantly trying to improve it. I think they deserve some kudos for that.”
To receive the designation, programs must align with the work of either the DOD, CIA, FBI or other federal organizations that are protecting U.S. cyber infrastructure. The NSA evaluates the program to make sure students are properly prepared for a job in the cybersecurity field.
“This is a transformative moment for LCCC,” said Dan McIntosh, Information Technology Pathway coordinator. “This designation is not just about our IT program — it’s a win for the entire campus, our students and the broader community. It means our students can be confident that their education meets rigorous national security standards, and it creates pathways to high-demand careers in government, private industry and beyond.”
The certification comes as artificial intelligence offers more challenges with cybersecurity.
Path To Excellence
McIntosh submitted the LCCC program to the NSA about six months ago. Normally, the organization then makes recommendations for improvements and the process continues until a program meets all the strict qualifications. However, LCCC’s program was already so advanced there was little to change.
“This is normally a two- to three-year process, which we completed in under six months because of the rigor and quality of our program,” Director Troy Amick said. “Generally, they'll do the assessment, poke holes in your program and then they'll ask you to improve those. That's why it normally takes several years. We're very fortunate in that what they found with our program was we had already reached a level of cutting-edge instruction, and the ways we involve our students far exceeded what they usually see.”
The primary goal for the cybersecurity program is for students to be able to leave LCCC and immediately contribute to the industry. To ensure this, adjustments are made from year to year to keep up with changes in the industry.
“We make considerable changes to our program every single year,” Amick said. “We are constantly watching what the emerging technologies are and what the emerging business needs are. We're working with industry partners to identify what the gaps are that they're seeing out of graduates, and then we modify our program and our coursework accordingly.”
Students first gain a firm basis in networks and network security before beginning to focus on cybersecurity classes for network defense.
“My favorite courses were our Cisco Networking classes,” Broad said. “I think I've learned the most in those because that is like every level of computing, so you have to understand it all. And it was a whole realm that I hadn't ever dove into. Networking was completely foreign to me, so it was really cool to see how they built an entire network.”
Like Stephenson, Broad got into the program after deciding he wanted a different career path. He had been doing audio work in Denver, but when COVID shut down all live events it forced him to return home to Cheyenne.
“I decided I was going to pivot, because I didn't want that to happen in my career again,” he said. “I was talking to my student success coach, and she said, ‘Oh, you kind of sound like an IT guy,’ so she showed me the program, and that's really what got me into it.”
Stephenson enjoyed learning network attack principles and said it was a “good way to peek under the skirt of criminals, so to speak.”
“There were a lot of practical exercises in that class where you get to try out different tools and see how they work, and you get to understand them,” he said. “It's also extremely scary, because you learn how easy these tools are to use with just a little bit of knowledge.”
Stephenson also appreciated the smaller class sizes the two-year school offers, which allowed him to have closer relationships with his instructors.
“They were all really helpful,” he said. “They all seemed very passionate about what they were doing. So anytime I had questions, I didn't get just the canned answer. They were always eager to help out.”
Broad agrees that the small size of the program is a big benefit, and the instructors are some of the best he’s worked with.
“And the other students in the program, we help each other through study sessions and everything,” he added. “It's made the whole process a lot easier.”
Cutting-Edge Technology
During their more advanced courses students use a cyber range, which Amick describes as a “big digital sandbox.” The range allows them to both launch and defend against attacks in a safe environment that doesn’t put any systems or school resources at risk.
“The best offense is a good defense,” Amick said. “We teach them how these attacks occur. We see if they can launch these attacks themselves, so they will know how to defend against them.”
Amick and his staff all formerly worked in the industry in various roles and are able to build and maintain their own cyber range.
“We then took that and connected it to a small-scale city,” he said. “We launch attacks and participate in events on city infrastructure in that realm. It provides a tactile environment for students to actually see a physical, real-world input or output.”
“I think it’s awesome they built a whole cyber city for us to work with,” Broad said. “It's little computers that we can attack and see in natural application, what exploits work against which computer systems. It gives us a real good understanding of how it would work in the real world.”
Recently LCCC took part in a cyber defense competition, going against several four-year institutions. The students worked to secure a network to make sure no sensitive data was extracted, while another team attacked the system.
“Our job was to defend against it, and if we couldn’t defend against it, to recover from it,” Broad said. “We got our butts kicked, but it was a good learning experience, and it was really good to learn how quickly something can go wrong in a network environment. It’s a little startling how quick all that could happen.”
Stephenson was in the program before the cyber range was created but said the students still had a “robust virtual environment set up.”
They also did a competition when he was in school and out of 110 schools from around the world, LCCC finished seventh.
Numerous Benefits
The CAE-CD designation provides numerous advantages for students, including national recognition, expanded career opportunities, affordable pathway to high-value careers, early access for high school students and scholarship access.
“What's great about the NSA program, they recognize the value that each different student brings to the career field, and so they've done really well to offer particular benefits to a traditional student and then a different type of benefit that resonates more with a non-traditional student,” Amick said. “Students have to know their stuff because this NSA certification means that this is a difficult program and that they are going to be very challenged.”
The designation also opens the door for government-academic research exchanges, giving LCCC faculty and students the chance to participate in advanced research projects that address real-world cybersecurity challenges.
Beyond individual student benefits, it strengthens LCCC’s reputation and fosters collaboration with industry leaders and government agencies. =
“The reality is from our large corporate partners to the small mom and pop shops, they're all starting to see cybersecurity the same way that they might have seen fire insurance or flood insurance 50 years ago,” McIntosh said. “It’s that vulnerability that you just can't afford not to pay attention to anymore. And so when our students graduate with that diverse skill set and well-rounded background, we can confidently place them with a state agency, a federal agency or a small business. We're providing that workforce.”
Bigger, Better, Faster
Amick says the future goal for the program is bigger, better, faster, more. LCCC plans to expand its cybersecurity offerings, integrate new training and certification opportunities and strengthen partnerships with local businesses and government agencies. Through partnerships with CyberWyoming (a non-profit that's goal is to reduce cyber risk for Wyoming businesses and organizations), Laramie County School District 1, other community colleges and regional organizations, the IT Pathway will continue outreach efforts to inform students, faculty and the community about the significance of cybersecurity education.
“How do we start to reach out across this nation and become known for being one of, if not the highest quality, two-year program for cybersecurity?” Amick said. “The value for our future is just reasonably high. Our program's entire mission is to create employable, high-earning outcomes for our students in the most efficient and engaged way possible.”
Cybersecurity is its most popular program, but across the entire technology pathway, LCCC has seen a 30% or greater increase in enrollment the past two years. The trend looks to continue next year as well.
“There's a lot of potential for a solid income and a good career,” Amick said. “If you're a person who loves to learn and not do the same thing everyday, then a career in IT and in cybersecurity is a great choice.”
The program is also offered remotely.
“There's a lot of benefits to being on campus as you get access to some hands-on stuff that you might not have otherwise, but we try to make it so that students that live anywhere in the state can still launch your career.”
Most in the program are employed before they actually graduate, including Stephenson and Broad.
After graduating in 2023, Stephenson became a full-time IP specialist at LCCC. He started working at the support desk in a student role and was offered the job before he was done with his degree. While much of what he does isn’t directly related to cybersecurity, he definitely utilizes what he’s learned.
He’s enjoyed being able to watch the cybersecurity program evolve in his time working at the college.
“Things change every day, so it's very interesting to see the program grow and it just keeps getting better and better,” he said.
Broad also has a job lined up with Microsoft after he graduates next month.
“I don’t think I would have gotten in without some of the certifications I now have,” he said. ”Everything I've learned in school is pretty much immediately applicable to a job, and I have a greater knowledge than my job requires, but you have to get that entry point, and I feel pretty fortunate that my entry point is with one of the largest tech companies in the world.”
