A Perfect Fit: A Journey in Cyber Defense and Leadership
Editor’s Note: Wes Baird’s preferred pronouns are they, them, their.
Amongst a sea of graduates donning black caps and gowns, with the adoring smiles of friends and families in the background, College of Coastal Georgia graduate Wes Baird ’24 was asked to stand. Then College President Dr. Michelle Johnston recognized Baird in her commencement address to the audience and spring graduates, as she highlighted a few graduates who’ve made their mark at the College—Baird being one of them.
Johnston spoke of how they will be one of the first people in their family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, and how they competed in cybersecurity competitions.
“But as great as he is as a competitor, Wes is known by so many as someone you can count on for help. Whether it’s advice on coffee types and flavors, CB radios and drones—because he has a drone license to fly drones—websites, computer problems, or if you need a ride, he is always there to help. So, congratulations, Wes, on being excellent in all of these ways,” Johnston said in her remarks.
Baird stood to the applause from their peers, family, and friends. It was a surprising, yet proud moment for them—especially for their mother who was obviously overjoyed—because it reflected their time at the College, which prepared them for the next phase of their life.
Baird is originally from Canton, Georgia. They learned about the College through their high school computer science teacher who had a child at Coastal. With a reputable cyber defense program and affordable tuition, it was a perfect match. Baird’s goal was a career in cyber defense, but they also enjoyed programming. By majoring in interdisciplinary studies, with a concentration in cyber defense, they were able to do both—cyber defense and programming. Baird was a member of XR Education Innovated Labs (XREIL), a cutting-edge development group at the College that creates engaging and immersive educational experiences. XREIL members have been working on a virtual reality education-based escape room, called Unlock. Unlock is still in progress, but features math puzzles that make understanding and learning math fun. As part an independent study course, for the game, Baird created a virtual full-scale 15-puzzle. When the player steps on a tile, it moves to an empty space.
“I enjoyed working on the project,” Baird said. “It was really interesting and actually helped me a lot with higher-level math. I was kind of forced to jump in and do it, but it was also very stressful, not really knowing anything going into the class.”
Share What You Know
One of the many highlights of Baird’s time at the College was participating in National Cyber League (NCL) competitions. The NCL is a bi-annual cybersecurity competition that provides a simulated platform where students can test their cybersecurity skills against peers nationwide. Earlier this spring, over 7,000 participants from various colleges and universities competed in the rigorous challenges designed to mimic scenarios that cybersecurity professionals face daily. Baird was one of the standout performers, and placed in the top 1%, setting a new record for the College.
“The NCL was a fantastic opportunity for me to apply what I’ve learned in class in a competitive environment through CTFs (capture the flag). I have spent many hours practicing, studying, and helping others in the Cyber Sail Club to build a knowledge base and improve my own skills,” Baird said about the competition.
Baird finished 72nd out of 7,399 and completed 92.4% of all of the challenges. They also served as a team captain, with their team finishing 34th out of 4,000 teams.
Baird truly enjoyed helping their peers in the cyber defense program. Helping others reinforced what they learned, making them a better competitor and more prepared for real world cyber security scenarios. Their advice to other students is to not keep good information to yourself.
“Share it. If you’ve got a faster way to do something, or if you think there’s a better way to do it, discuss it with that person that you’re working with, and see what you can do to either find a middle ground or a much more efficient way to do something,” Baird said.
Dr. Nelbert “Doc” St. Clair, associate professor of cyber defense, complimented Baird, saying that their method of sharing knowledge was caring, kind, and compassionate—which spread to everyone they touched over the last two years.
After graduating from Coastal in May, Baird now works as a junior security analyst for Critical Path Security. Their duties involve pen testing and digital forensics for companies. Participating in the competitions gave them great experience in doing hands-on work, diving deep into information to understand what they’re looking for.
“Going to college and learning what I did in the program, and doing all the competitions really helped. I think the competitions are probably one of the best ways to really engage people. It really makes people try and do better, because even if there’s a little bit of competition between two or three students, they’re all building off each other,” they said.
If You Just Try
When asked what they learned about themselves while at the College, Baird answered that they could do more if they just tried.
“Even prior to the college, I didn’t do any kind of public speaking. Everything I did was more to myself,” they said. “Going through college helped me get through a lot of that.”
Baird developed these skills further throughout their academic career, like when they did a drone demonstration for high school students, led cyber students in competitions, and served as president of the Cyber Sail Club. They also commended professors Dr. Katie Brooks, assistant professor of English, Dr. Kim Takagi, assistant professor of environmental science, Dr. Vargas, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, and St. Clair for keeping them motivated when courses got tough. Baird also shared about their time as a student-worker for Technology Services.
“They’ve got a good environment going on up there. It’s not like working fast food or anything. It’s very oriented towards learning and improvement, especially for the students to learn and get better at what you’re doing. The people up there are just really amazing,” Baird said.
When they’re not working to keep clients and businesses safe online, Baird continues to enjoy working with virtual reality and is looking into doing more development. They also enjoy drawing, and continues to have fun with radios and drone piloting.