Eden Area ROP is a career opportunity school in Hayward. High school students from the region can attend programs geared toward career development. HUSD has students from all four high schools including Mt. Eden, Brenkwitz Alternative, Tennyson, and Hayward High participating in these classes.
An example of this is the cybersecurity program. You will learn many skills through this two year program that includes classes such as operating systems and principles. Also, the course discusses the structure of IP addressing and security, networking. The skills that are developed in cybersecurity allow second year students to earn scholarships and participate in competitions.
The Eden Area ROP cybersecurity program has recently competed in a hacking tournament. Students worked in pairs to complete challenging tasks in timed events. They faced off against other schools throughout the state. This was an opportunity to allow students to develop and test their skills. Students had a chance of traveling as a team to different places to compete, which made the experience of the tournament more exciting for students.
Tournament winners were awarded a $10,000 prize to split with the team. The focus for this year’s competition is a culmination of the skills that students learned throughout both years at ROP. The objective is to prove their reverse engineering and hacking skills to solve a problem.
This year Eden Area ROP was selected to compete at the April 6th tournament in Los Angeles. They qualified for the event by passing a test in February at the Regional Finals. Two students who got to participate in this competition were senior Jose E. Esquivel Ramirez, and junior Dencedy Guevarra IV.
Esquivel Ramirez expressed, “this tournament further expands my knowledge in the cybersecurity field and is good for my resume. Employers like people that go above and beyond what is expected of them. We chose to participate in this tournament out of our own free will and weren’t required in the class.”
“When this competition takes place, I expect to gain both experience and recognition. If I win too, then I believe I have a hopeful chance for internships and scholarships too,” said Guevarra.
Both students felt extremely prepared for the tournament. “We gave it our all,” said Gueverra and Ramirez. They were not able to make it past the first round as the competition was fierce.
After their last match, Esquivel Ramirez said, “After the competition I was relieved that it was all over and now we could finally rest.” Guevarra added that he felt proud and motivated after the tournament. Although they did not win, the whole team still enjoyed traveling, their time competing and using their knowledge against other schools.
