A total of nine St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) students have earned the industry-standard CompTIA Security+ certification through a partnership with Resource Management Concepts Inc. (RMC). The students trained at RMC, a leading information technology services company located in nearby Lexington Park, in an effort to increase their marketable workforce skills and the pool of IT talent available to the St. Mary's County defense and aerospace industries.
“We're excited about this partnership with SMCM and what it means as an investment and commitment to helping develop a workforce for our local community,” said David Hickman, a 2007 SMCM graduate and vice president for RMC.
"Having an industry certification while still a college student is a major boost to my resume," said Liam Pratt '23, a computer science major. "We were informed during our training that most government-contracted companies require the Security+ certification."
The opportunity offered the students by RMC is significant as it brings an added dimension to the curriculum. "RMC’s generous provision of CompTIA SEC+ training and certification has provided our students with an educational and resume-building opportunity that cannot be provided within the structure of normal academic courses," said Simon Read, SMCM associate professor of computer science. "We remain grateful to RMC for their continuing support in providing co-curricular opportunities to our students."
"This is an excellent example of how SMCM's liberal arts curriculum translates into workplace preparedness," said Katherine Gantz, interim provost and dean of the faculty at SMCM. "We're so proud of our nine students who passed the Security+ test, and very much appreciate our partners at RMC, who made this opportunity possible."
The nature of government work often involves heightened information technology security requirements, for which industry certifications are essential. "My plans involve pursuing a government contracted job, hopefully with an internship with RMC, and gaining more certifications and experience in the field of cybersecurity," Pratt continued. "We were informed about other CompTIA certifications you could gain through the same Infosec program, such as specialized courses in network security and ethical hacking, which I thought would also be very helpful."
Other SMCM students, all computer science majors, who obtained the Security+ certification include Leon Carrington '24, Caleb Jenkins '23, Shameer Rao '24, and Jordan Reece '23.
