In Huntsville, Alabama, home to one of the nation’s largest cybersecurity hubs, educators and industry professionals are rethinking what cybersecurity education can look like.
Rather than separating classroom instruction from workplace experience, they are co-designing learning environments where students build cyber ranges, develop industry-informed capstone projects and secure internships that connect learning directly to future careers.
At the Madison County Schools Career Technical Center, cybersecurity instructor Kala Jo Grice-Dobbins is showing what that looks like in practice. Working alongside industry professionals, she is creating a classroom where students learn not only technical skills, but also how cybersecurity professionals think, collaborate and solve problems.
Expanding What is Possible in the Classroom
The Alabama Technology Education and Career Pathways Accelerator, created by the STEM Foundation with district pathway implementation support from Digital Promise, helps districts ensure technology pathways lead to an industry credential of value by connecting educators with industry partners, work-based learning opportunities and resources aligned with workforce needs. For Grice-Dobbins, participating in the Accelerator became an opportunity to deepen those partnerships and rethink how students experience cybersecurity in the classroom.
Working alongside industry mentors, Grice-Dobbins built a classroom that looks and feels more like the environments students will encounter after graduation. Students work in a private cyber range across Windows and Linux environments, troubleshoot unfamiliar problems and prepare for senior capstone projects modeled after real cybersecurity work.
“Cybersecurity isn’t about memorizing answers,” Grice-Dobbins explained. “It’s about learning how to think through problems.”
Beyond the school year, Grice-Dobbins collaborates with industry partners and students to continue improving the program based on industry needs and learner goals.
During her four years teaching cybersecurity in Madison County, Grice-Dobbins’ students have secured internships with regional defense contractors and accepted positions that require security clearances. Eight students have completed internships through the program, creating a growing network of alums whose success after graduation is showing younger students what is possible.
Industry Brings the Workplace Into the Classroom
For industry professionals, this collaboration is an opportunity to share expertise, shape authentic learning experiences and mentor students at a deeper level.
David Hoover, a customer success manager at Canvas and an active member of Cyber Huntsville, helped design a government-style restricted network that gives students experience working in environments similar to those used by public-sector employers. He also advises senior capstone projects, helping students experience how cybersecurity teams solve problems, collaborate and communicate in professional settings.
Dr. Ian Clark, a technology leader at Science Applications International Corporation and cybersecurity mentor, has seen the long-term value of these collaborations throughout his career. Dr. Clark believes a simple shift has fundamentally changed how students learn: “There is no workbook.”
Rather than visiting the classroom for a single presentation, Hoover and Dr. Clark are involved throughout the learning process. They help shape projects, advise students as they work through challenges and provide feedback informed by current industry practice.
That sustained engagement gives students access to technical expertise and to professional expectations, communication styles and problem-solving approaches that are difficult to replicate through curriculum alone.
Seeing a Future in Cybersecurity
Jaxton first discovered cybersecurity during a freshman visit to the Madison County Career Technical Center. His father had sparked his interest in computers, and he immediately knew he wanted to join the program.
Over the next three years, that curiosity became a career path. Through industry-recognized certifications, increasingly complex projects and his senior capstone, Jaxton developed the technical skills and confidence to pursue cybersecurity after graduation. Along the way, he learned to think critically, leverage emerging technology to create solutions and work alongside industry mentors.
Experiences like internships, capstone projects and mentorship do more than build technical skills. They help students begin to imagine themselves as part of the profession. Rather than viewing cybersecurity as an abstract career, students understand where they fit, what they contribute and what opportunities are available after graduation.
Today, Jaxton plans to continue studying cybersecurity after graduation. More importantly, he no longer sees the field as something other people do. He sees himself in it.
Looking Ahead
The work taking shape through Alabama’s Technology Education and Career Pathways Accelerator demonstrates what’s possible when educators and industry professionals co-design learning together. As classrooms evolve alongside one of the nation’s fastest-changing industries, students gain more than technical knowledge. They gain confidence, professional connections and a clearer vision of where they belong.
For school systems looking to strengthen career-connected learning, the lesson extends beyond cybersecurity. When educators, employers and students collaborate to shape authentic learning experiences, classrooms become places where young people go beyond preparing for future careers and begin participating in the work those careers involve.
