GORHAM, Maine — A group of students at the Portland Arts and Technology High School, or PATHS, are part of a first-of-its-kind cybersecurity program for high schoolers in Maine.

Their teacher, Nate Jalbert, said one of his goals is to help make students more cyber secure so they can teach others to stay safe online.

The students recently went on a field trip to the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham campus to meet with students who are studying cybersecurity and learn what the school and career have to offer long term for interested students.

Jalbert said the trip to USM was a way to provide students a leg up on the possibilities that are out there for anyone interested in joining the field.

“Learning a skill that they can take with them, into a career hopefully or just learning, especially with cybersecurity, some better cyber hygiene, and staying safe online,” he said.

“I did not realize how much I would enjoy it until I started the program, and I think to a lot of people it may be a little boring cause you spend a lot of time on your desk,” PATHS student Jasper Ellis said. “We just don’t have enough people, so I think it’s very important there are more people like me and my classmates who are going into this industry.”

USM cybersecurity professor Dr. Lori Sussman said there are about 700 open cybersecurity jobs in Maine alone.

“There is a huge demand, and with the pandemic everyone has changed the way they work, live, play, learn. It’s all on the internet, and we need to secure it,” Sussman said.

Jan Kowalski was one of the students leading the session at USM.

“It’s going to become more and more relevant as everything moves digital, so it’s a thing that if you can get in and your good at it, then you are in a very good position,” Kowalski said.

Kowalski said he and other USM cybersecurity ambassadors have also launched a YouTube page with cybersecurity-related videos for any Mainer to access.