Joseph Keating of Pleasantville, N.Y., a Cybersecurity major at Mount Saint Mary College, recently received an Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE) Scholarship Award.
UPE is the only international honor society for the computing and information disciplines, as recognized by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and IEEE Computer Society.
Keating was one of only 20 students to receive the honor.
The Executive Council of Upsilon Pi Epsilon evaluates a myriad of scholarship applications each year from students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In order to be considered for one of the awards, students are required to complete a comprehensive application form including a statement on their long-term plans in the profession, a summary of their contributions to their home UPE chapter, related student activities at their college or university, and a faculty recommendation.
Keating credits Micah Modell, associate professor of Information Technology at the Mount, with bringing the scholarship opportunity to his attention and helping him apply.
“Dr. Modell was an immense help when I was completing the application and part of the process,” explained Keating.
Keating’s award comes after the Mount established its own UPE chapter on campus last March, which is overseen by Modell, the chapter’s advisor.
“We, at the Mount, are very excited to offer our students the opportunity to be embraced by the Upsilon Pi Epsilon honor society,” Modell said. “UPE enables us to recognize our cybersecurity majors alongside our information technology majors as their learning and growth occurs within our college. We are thrilled to incorporate the rich UPE tradition into our own.”
Mount cybersecurity majors get hands-on, cutting edge training on how to keep technology safe from cyberattacks.
The college recently introduced its Cybersecurity AAS to BA program, where students can begin their Cybersecurity training at SUNY Orange and finish at the Mount, ultimately yielding a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity. SUNY Orange students who have completed an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Cybersecurity and have earned grades of C or better in all required courses will be guaranteed admission into the Mount’s Cybersecurity program with full junior status.