Author: Virginia Zhu

  • A Step At a Time: AP Cybersecurity 30-Week Self-Study Journey

    In 2025, I won the CyberPatriot Open Division National Championship alongside my teammates on CyberAegis Phoenix. I was also the only girl on the team, so now I want to share what I have learned and help other students build their own cybersecurity skills.

    As an FY27 SWENext Influencer and president of All Girls STEM Society at my high school, I also want to encourage more girls to explore cybersecurity and see it as a field they could explore. Whether you are preparing for an exam or just learning about cybersecurity, everyone is welcome!

    Beginning October 5th, 2026, I will be publishing free, personal resources to use to prepare for the AP Cybersecurity exam. 

    Why do this?

    Since AP Cybersecurity is a new AP course that just began this year, my school does not yet offer a class for it. I am preparing for the AP exam in May by self-studying, and I know that many students will be doing the same. I am creating this blog to organize the resources I find and create some structure for this new course. Using my competition knowledge and the official College Board Course and Exam Description to cover topics, I will be working through all the required material and also providing practice to master the topics. Through all of this, I will also be learning along the way!

    This blog is a student-led initiative, stemming from my passion for cybersecurity. I plan to improve the resources as I work through the topics and receive feedback from readers. 30 weekly lessons will run from October 5, 2026, through May 3, 2027. The weekly schedule is not mandatory, so earlier posts will always be up for self-pacing.

    Learn Along With Me

    No cybersecurity competition experience is required to learn from this blog, simply just an interest in the field and a sprinkle of courage for the exam in May. I especially hope this project reaches students who also do not have a cybersecurity course at school and girls who are curious about this field. I want to make it easier to study for this exam and provide some motivation to keep going!

    To receive new weekly posts make sure to subscribe, and join me on October 5 for Week 1. Always leave a comment if there is any cybersecurity topic you hope to understand better!