The SI program unveils victory banner

Dr. Gordon Middleton held a pep rally on Tuesday unveiling a new banner commemorating PHC's recent championship in the 2023 Atlantic Council's Cyber 9/12 Strategy competition. He announced that several teams from PHC will soon be participating in a regional cyber competition in Washington, D.C.; potentially a competition in Paris, France; and an online competition in Geneva, Switzerland.

PHC's win in Miami was a huge victory for the Strategic Intelligence program and especially the Cyber and AI track. PHC's team, "Cloudestine Action," competed against several Ivy League schools as well as the Air Command and Staff College and West Point. In other words,  students went up against cyber intelligence professionals mid-career. 

Dr. Middleton said that this competition showed that "our students are very capable of holding their own against the best teams in the nation, including several international competitors. It also proved there are significant rewards for our students participating in these events in terms of prizes, unusually good internship opportunities, and networking contacts. Not least of all, it was a very strong validation of our coaching staff—Head Coach Sam Watkins (SI, '15) and Assistant Coach Thomas Doan (SI, '22)—and their approach to preparing our teams for these competitions."

Lily Young, a member of the victorious "Cloudestine Action" team commented, "The Miami tournament was a great experience to brief in person to professionals in various areas of expertise and showcase PHC to that environment as well. This next competition provides us with the opportunity to expand our reach into the IC and to show we are good enough to compete consistently with many other well known schools." Young added that, "Cyber Challenge is probably the most important project an SI major can do at PHC since it provides great briefing experience and allows you to conduct lots of networking."

The competition coming up soon in Washington, D.C., "will be a test of our team's abilities to consistently perform at a high level against a larger field of 45 teams from some of the largest and most competitive universities in the U.S. and several international teams as well," Dr. Middleton said. They will compete against teams from schools including UC Boulder, Duke, Texas A&M, Tufts, George Washington University, Colombia University, American University, Florida International University, the U.S. Military Academy, the Air Force Academy, and the Air Command and Staff College. 

Dr. Middleton noted that the online Geneva competition will be PHC's first time competing directly in an international tournament. The Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge in Paris will be PHC's first time competing in person at an international competition.

PHC is excited to see our students' continued involvement in these competitions—strengthening not just their understanding of cyber security, policy, and international relations, but also their ability to research, brief, and craft helpful solutions.

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 Patrick Henry College exists to glorify God by challenging the status quo in higher education, lifting high both faith and reason within a rigorous academic environment; thereby preserving for posterity the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is the foundation of America.