Two OSU students awarded esteemed Information Assurance Scholarships

Monday, June 16, 2008

(STILLWATER, OKLA. – June 16, 2008) -- Two Oklahoma State University students recently were awarded highly coveted Information Assurance Scholarships at the Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education.

Corey McMahon and Robb Wise, who are both majoring in management information systems, received two of the 50 national awards offered through the Information Assurance Scholarship program (IASP). The National Security Agency (NSA) and the U.S. Department of Defense sponsor the IASP, which offers recipients full-tuition and supply reimbursements, as well as room and board funding assistance in exchange for one year of service to the Department of Defense upon graduation.

“The actual importance of programs like these lies in our national security by paving the road for future endeavors in information assurance,” said BJ Huston, Global Network Exploitation and Vulnerability Analyst, who also is an OSU alumnus and former IASP recipient. “This program allows government agencies to hand-pick the outstanding students. The results are in the employees, who are dually dedicated to their country and their company.”

The IASP is offered to students at the 85 national Centers for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAE) or 23 national Centers for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research (CAE-R). OSU is the only institution in Oklahoma to hold both CAE and CAE-R designations, a feat made possible by the outstanding research, education and outreach of the Center for Telecommunications and Network Security (CTANS).

“The CTANS, along with students like McMahon and Wise, is aiding the national endeavor at securing information at all levels of American society,” said Mark Weiser, OSU Spears School of Business associate dean and CTANS director. “I am honored OSU shares the revered CAE-R title with schools like Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins and Polytechnic.”

Wise said this speaks volumes to the level of education that is available at OSU in technology.

“We’ve only begun to scratch the surface in Information Assurance possibilities for graduates,” he said. “New information technology is continuously being developed and released, leaving the door open for dedicated and intelligent students to enter into government positions to assist in protecting one of our most valuable assets. This scholarship will change my life.”

McMahon agreed and said he is excited to be recruited by what he believes to be the most prestigious and powerful agency in the world. He added that this scholarship will provide him with the chance to further his education beyond what any other company or agency could.

“By requiring students to provide reference letters from professors with their application, the NSA can learn more about a potential employee than it would in a 30-minute interview,” he said. “The NSA is looking for quality people, and through this process, that’s what they’re going to get.”