A cybersecurity camp for teens will be held at SOU Ashland

SOU hosts cybersecurity camp for high school students

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Oregon teens who are interested in technology have a first-time opportunity this summer to explore cybersecurity careers at a free weeklong camp hosted at Southern Oregon University. The camp is taught by David Pouliot, an associate professor in the SOU Computer Science program, with current Computer Science students at SOU serving as assistants and mentors.

The NW Cyber Camp will take place Monday through Friday, August 10-14, on SOU’s campus in Ashland. The camp is open to students currently in grades eight through 11. It’s designed to give participants a hands-on experience with cybersecurity tools and explore potential career paths.

Students in the course will take on the roles of cybersecurity professionals working at a fictional software company. They will be acting as interns investigating an anomaly in network logs, learning new technical skills and following clues to solve a cyber crime.

No prior experience in cybersecurity is required. The camp is designed for students who enjoy technology, problem solving and learning how to “defend the network” in a collaborative environment.

The no-cost program includes hands-on learning with professional cybersecurity tools and guest speakers from the industry. Students will participate in team-based activities connected to cybersecurity concepts and learn about career paths in one of Oregon’s fastest growing, high-wage fields. Lunch will be provided each day.

NW Cyber Camp is a program of the Oregon Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (OCCoE) – an entity created by the 2023 Legislature with Portland State University, Oregon State University and the University of Oregon designated as founding members. The center is authorized to assist the state’s chief information security officer and “provide ​awareness, education, services and training about cybersecurity and cybersecurity-related issues for public, private and non-profit sectors in Oregon.”

The NW Cyber Camp program – which began in 2016 to introduce cybersecurity skills and careers to high school students in Portland – was made a part of the OCCoE following the 2023 legislation. Day camps are now available through the founding member institutions, along with Clackamas Community College, the Sylvania Campus of Portland Community College and Oregon Institute of Technology. The Cyber Camp is being offered at SOU this year for the first time.

A total of 25 spaces are available for campers at the SOU location. Students can learn more and apply at nwcybercamp.org.

Story by Felicity Johnson
SOU Computer Science major

Microsoft competition: SOU Ashland sweep

SOU students sweep in Microsoft competition

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Students from Southern Oregon University have earned all of the top 10 placements in the Microsoft Excel category of the Oregon Spring Qualifier round for this year’s Microsoft Office Specialist U.S. National Championship.

Students from SOU School of Business computer applications courses typically take two or three of the top spots in Microsoft’s annual statewide competition, but this is the first time that SOU has swept the category.

“Excel remains one of the most sought-after workplace skills employers want from college graduates,” said David Parker, a Senior Instructor II who coordinated this year’s entrants in the contest. “Here in the School of Business, we are preparing students with practical, marketable skills that help them stand out as they move into internships, jobs and long-term careers.”

Chase Barnes, a business student at SOU, earned first place in the Microsoft Excel (Office 2019) category and has been invited to represent Oregon at the 2026 MOS U.S. National Championship next month in Nashville, Tennessee. SOU’s Shiv Patel finished second in the Excel competition and was followed by Alexa Ibarraran, Stephanie Cortes, Simon Turquety, Kathryn Mack, Alana Albarran, Ryan McGinley, Katlyn Carnes and Zoe Manouvrier.

The clean sweep by SOU in the Spring Qualifier followed another notable effort in Oregon’s Fall Qualifier for the Excel category, when SOU students earned five of the top 10 spots – including the top three. SOU’s Paige Hoene won that competition, followed by Patrick Wooley in second place, Phoebe Knight in third, Zachary High in eighth and Mason Labow in 10th.

Students between the ages of 13 and 22 earn eligibility to compete in one of six competition tracks for the Fall or Spring Qualifiers by submitting a qualified passing score on the MOS Word, Excel or PowerPoint certification exams. First-place students from each competition track are invited to represent their state at the MOS U.S. National Championship. The winner of each track at the national competition will earn a trip to represent the U.S. at this year’s MOS World Championship in Anaheim, California.

“We have seen amazing results from the MOS program at Southern Oregon University as students learn and validate key workforce skills,” Parker said. “The MOS U.S. National Championship further motivates students to get certified, and we are incredibly proud of Chase Barnes for earning the opportunity to represent Oregon at the national level.

“We are also proud of all 10 SOU students who earned top placements in the state. This achievement reflects their hard work, technical skill and commitment to preparing for the modern workforce.”

The Microsoft Office Specialist certification is the only official Microsoft-recognized certification for Microsoft Office globally. The certification helps assess students’ skills and prepares them to apply Microsoft Office knowledge in academic, professional, and real-world settings.

Author Rick Atkinson to join conversation with SOU Ashland's Cherstin Lyon

SOU’s Cherstin Lyon joins conversation with Pulitzer winner Rick Atkinson

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SOU History professor Cherstin M. Lyon, Ph.D., will join Oregon Historical Society executive director Kerry Tymchuk this week for an onstage conversation with Rick Atkinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning and No. 1 New York Times bestselling author and historian.

The Southern Oregon Historical Society is hosting Atkinson in partnership with the Oregon Historical Society’s Mark O. Hatfield Lecture Series and Oregon’s official commemoration of America 250, marking the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding. The conversation with Atkinson – from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Rogue Valley Country Club, 2660 Hillcrest Road in Medford – will be about his latest work, “Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777–1780.”

Author Rick Atkinson to join conversation with SOU Ashland's Cherstin Lyon“Fate of the Day” is the second volume of the author’s acclaimed Revolution Trilogy, offering a narrative account of the American Revolution’s most precarious years.

He has written nine books on military history, including his Liberation Trilogy about World War II. The first volume in that series – “An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943” – won Atkinson the Pulitzer Prize for History.

It was his third Pulitzer – he also won the individual prize for national reporting while with the Kansas City Times for his series on the West Point class of 1966, which suffered the highest casualties in Vietnam of any military class; and he headed a seven-person team at the Washington Post that won a Pulitzer for public service reporting for its series about police shootings in Washington, D.C.

Sponsors of this week’s conversation with Atkinson are offering discounted tickets for students and educators, in an effort to make the event accessible to the academic community. Tickets for students or teachers will be $15; tickets for members of the Oregon Historical Society or Southern Oregon Historical Society will be $30; and tickets for the general public will be $35.

Tickets can be purchased online or at the door, subject to availability. Seating is limited, and advance purchase is highly recommended.

The special Medford engagement is made possible through support from the Keller Foundation, the America 250 Oregon sponsor of the Mark O. Hatfield Lecture Series.