Looking Back Through the Years
A Decade of Growth
This school year marks a milestone as ICN begins working with the 10th group of students that make up its Statewide Youth Broadband Advisory Council (SYBAC). This youth initiative launched during the 2015-2016 school year, as an opportunity to interact with high school students statewide and gather their thoughts on broadband and technology.
The goal of this program is to retain our young tech talent in Iowa, and we can achieve that by actively providing them with intentional opportunities. These exclusive sessions connect students statewide for informal technical conversations with State government executives, state personnel, and Iowa-based tech leaders. In addition to learning about technology and cybersecurity, the program teaches the students about accountability, networking with one another and with Iowa leaders, and State government.
Iowa superintendent Barb Schwamman has enjoyed the interaction that ICN has had with her students. “Students from Osage and Riceville have greatly benefited from interacting with SYBAC students and staff, as they share the same interests and passions with technology,” explained Schwamman who is a shared Superintendent for Osage CSD and Riceville CSD.
"SYBAC gives students the opportunity to expand leadership skills while learning about relevant and real-world problems. Students are able to do projects locally while expanding their own network. It has been an outstanding experience with most of our SYBAC participants still in the tech field today", added Schwamman.
Throughout the years, the program has educated students on a variety of topics such as automated transportation and artificial intelligence technology; autonomous tractors; coding practices; wireless technology; cybersecurity predictions and safeguard techniques; esports; telehealth in Iowa; protecting Iowa schools from security incidents; explaining the digital divide; and educating about ICN’s services and our robust statewide infrastructure.
The Beginning
The early years of SYBAC focused on exclusive conversations between the students and ICN’s executive director, discussing a variety of technology interests from the students’ perspectives. The conversations touched on cybersecurity and encryption, the generational shift with technology, getting broadband to everyone in and around town, and dead zones in the schools.
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The students would take turns leading a session and hear from their peers and the executive director. An example of a topic was describing their school’s Internet connection in the rural parts of the State. Some students would explain when an entire class is using a digital device, the class runs slower since everyone is trying to connect to the same website. A variety of students through the years would talk about their residential Internet service and the fast or slow speeds, which could be from wireless, satellite, or at times fiber.
It was during the 2018-2019 school year that we began to incorporate technology partners to provide their knowledge to the students. The experts visited our ICN conference room or joined us online. After a year of conference room visits, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred as we were wrapping up the 2019-2020 school year and preparing for the in-person meeting in April. Instead of an in-person session, the participants enjoyed a virtual tour of the data center, in addition to an online meeting with the LightEdge team.
Meeting with Iowa’s Government Officials & Legislators
The February 2016 meeting was our first in-person session where we invited the students to the Capitol Complex to meet with their peers and state officials face-to-face. During the 2016 SYBAC day, the students toured ICN’s broadband information center, met with legislators, and met exclusively with then Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds. She listened and spoke with the students and participated in the discussions by providing an update on Iowa's self-driving vehicles and explaining the huge possibilities for economic development and agriculture.
In 2017, Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, again participated in a discussion with the students on a range of topics including cybersecurity, the Internet of Things (IoT), expanding broadband availability in rural areas, and future internship opportunities for students in Iowa.
Over the years the students have been able to see the government in action. When visiting the Iowa Capitol, the students were provided with unique opportunities to discuss broadband and technology topics with their local legislators, state officials, and staff.
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SYBAC is an opportunity for any high school student to gain the introductory knowledge of technology and cybersecurity. The concept of SYBAC expanded during the 2018-2019 school year where students connected with Iowa’s technology industry. This change of interaction led to the ability to showcase Iowa’s technology by inviting companies to speak about their mission and workforce. Students have heard from a variety of companies, such as:
- John Deere and the advancements of agriculture.
- Iowa Department of Transportation and University of Iowa highlighted autonomous vehicles.
- Coding presentations from Youth Code, NewBoCo, Kyle Kuhlers from the Waterloo Career Center, and internal ICN staff.
- Technology Association of Iowa and company members have explained workforce tips.
- Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management and FirstNet discussed public safety initiatives.
- OneNeck and Microsoft provided an overview of their datacenters.
- Iowa State University spoke about cybersecurity and the ARA wireless canopy initiative.
- LightEdge opened their doors to numerous datacenter tours, which give students an inside look at the network equipment and colocation services.
A recent addition of the program was integrating a community service project for the students to complete that educates an audience about cybersecurity. The project needed to focus on topics such as Passwords, Phishing, Software Updates, and/or Multi-Factor Authentication. We have had an amazing response from our SYBAC students.
- Many students presented cyber safety information to a variety of age levels and peers. The topics covered included phishing, firewalls and their purpose, the importance of strong passwords, social media, and Internet safety tips.
- A student from Dubuque CSD provided two talks on cybersecurity to the school's tutoring club. In addition, the student wrote about the SYBAC experience in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald.
- Students assisted their school’s IT Department in fixing computer issues and keeping student and teacher software up to date. In addition, they raised cybersecurity awareness by crafting a personalized message for anyone impacted by a cyber-attack.
Since sessions are virtual, school snow days don’t affect SYBAC. In January 2024, Kyle Kuhlers, IT & Cybersecurity Instructor at Waterloo Career Center, provided an interactive coding session. That session lasted for two hours with the students staying engaged the whole time. It was a huge success. In fact, a technology instructor from another school used some of the resources Kyle offered to incorporate them into school-wide instruction for their students.
"I love the SYBAC because it has my students interacting with IT & Cybersecurity professionals from across the state. These contacts along with the learning that SYBAC students complete is so valuable in growing our student's interest. Additionally, it connects students with other high schoolers from across the state with the same interests," said Kuhlers.
We are proud of our partnerships and grateful to each and every one for their willingness to invest their time and energy in providing students with an Iowa technology perspective.
Growth in Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity was integrated into the sessions during the 2019-2020 school year, when Iowa State University (ISU) professor Doug Jacobson shared access to the Security Literacy Training Curriculum. These videos and classroom materials provided introductory sessions about downloads and passwords, malware, and what to do when one receives malicious emails.
It has been widely known that there has been a critical worker shortage in the cybersecurity field for years. In 2020, the SYBAC students began completing Fortinet’s cybersecurity fundamentals online course, which educates on the ever-changing threat landscapes. Providing students with the ability to expand their knowledge and skills about cybersecurity has helped broaden their cyber awareness. Fortinet’s training course is a valid certificate for two years, which is a noteworthy achievement when applying for scholarships and college applications.
The collaboration between ICN and ISU cybersecurity professor Doug Jacobson has evolved. ICN provides awareness for their Iowa Cyber Hub campaign and the Cybersecurity Ambassador Program for schools and students.
Student Experiences and Parent Support
When parents support the work that is being done, it shows that topics presented are moving in the right direction. It was during one in-person session where a parent thanked ICN staff for the work that they are doing and for encouraging their child to learn about cybersecurity. Over the years, we have received kudos from students and parents, and we greatly appreciate their support.
"Thank you! My son had an awesome experience being a part of SYBAC this school year!" - Jackie M, Osage CSD
"Thank you ICN. [My son] enjoyed being in this group this year and no doubt learned a lot. Thank you for investing in our youth!" - Lisa O, Monticello CSD
“This group is amazing! My son learned so much about different career opportunities and how many technology jobs there are in Iowa. If you have a student interested in technology this is a fabulous learning experience no matter where in Iowa you live!” - Patricia H, Southeast Warren CSD
We can’t forget a highlight that occurred in 2018 when a SYBAC student from Earlham High School, received one of Iowa's top awards for his participation in SANS Institute's CyberStart program. The award was presented during the 3rd Annual Cyber Alliance Symposium.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of SYBAC with the largest group of students yet. We are proud of the student's interest in joining, the school and parent support, and Iowa's tech industry involvement over the years. We look forward to a great year ahead!