Meet Our Summer 2022 Scholarship Recipients, Nikolas Dutra and Christina McCurdy

We're thrilled to introduce our Summer 2022 scholarship recipients: Nikolas Dutra and Christina McCurdy!

Nikolas (Niko) Dutra is our VetSec Scholarship recipient, and Christina McCurdy is our Open Doors Scholarship recipient for our Summer 2022 cohort, which began on August 29.

Just before the bootcamp began, we asked Niko and Christina some questions to learn a bit more about them, what made them interested in our Cyber Defense Analyst Bootcamp, and what they were most excited about.

Meet Niko Dutra

Watch the video below to hear from Niko Dutra.

Meet Christina McCurdy

Q: What were you up to in terms of your career/education before the bootcamp?

Before the bootcamp, I was (and still am) a military spouse, mother, University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) student, and Vice Chairwoman of the Manchester Band of Pomo Indians in California.

Q: What made you decide it was time for a change of pace?

My husband retired after 23 years of service in the United States Marine Corps, and so I finally had the opportunity to breathe and work on myself for a change. Now that our youngest child is almost 10 years old, it’s time for me to find my passion.

Q: Why did you choose to attend Level Effect’s bootcamp over the others out there?

Honestly, I was already looking into the cybersecurity degree available at UCCS so that I could possibly switch majors from Spanish to cybersecurity. Then, my husband shared the information from Level Effect because he is currently taking advantage of the veteran service portion with Level Effect. I looked at the website, and we decided I should try this out since it’s more concentrated in the specific cyber learning world.

Q: What are you most excited about as you begin the bootcamp?

I am very excited to start this new journey. I enjoyed the Cybersecurity Foundations course and can’t wait to get hands-on experience with labs and videos and reading. I am excited to learn and do what's necessary to get my foot in the door and start my career.

***

Thanks so much for chatting with us, Niko and Christina! Best of luck to you both as you progress through the bootcamp.

For each of our cohorts in our Cyber Defense Analyst Bootcamp, we offer a full scholarship for one VetSec member as well as a $2,500 discount for other VetSec members. We also offer a full scholarship for one student in each cohort through our Open Doors Scholarship as well as partial scholarships depending on capacity and needs.