Strengthening Maryland’s Digital Safety Through Community Collaboration

While taking a cybersecurity course, Aayush found major gaps in knowledge in his community. As part of the course, he conducted a primary survey and found “how vast the gaps were, even among my peers.”  

That discovery pushed him to look more closely at how students and families understand online safety. Continuing his research into the gaps in cybersecurity education, Aayush began to understand the strengths and weaknesses citing that IT teams are “doing an excellent job already, blocking out hackers and creating firewalls.” But he also identified a critical vulnerability: “if the person controlling the device willingly let someone in, there’s nothing the IT teams can do about that.” 

This led him to the National Civics Bee® because for Aayush, it was “an amazing platform to start and spread my initiative and my social project.” Through the National Civics Bee Maryland State Finals hosted by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Aayush connected his interest in cybersecurity with civic action, turning research into a practical effort to help protect the people around him. He began to work with community leaders, parents, teachers, and students to create community resources and initiatives to build cyber safety.  

Through the National Civics Bee, Aayush viewed civic engagement as a shared responsibility. His research, along with conversations with the Howard County IT Security Department, helped him understand that improving cyber safety requires students, parents, educators, and IT teams to work together. 

“Civic engagement is a team effort,” he said. It is “not just about government or laws. It is also about how we the people work together to solve problems in our communities.” That belief became the foundation of his solution, bringing people together, building awareness, and giving his community the tools to work toward a safer online environment. 

Beyond cybersecurity and his own project, Aayush also found inspiration in the other students he met through the National Civics Bee. “The most inspiring moment that I really treasure is listening to the other competitors speak about their issues and their solutions,” he said. 

Through his experience, Aayush has seen how a gap can grow into a civic project, and how students can help lead conversations and solutions that make their communities safer, stronger, and more connected.