Austin Walley - AP History Teacher Turned Cybersecurity Educator and a believer in figuring it out.
Austin Walley is a cybersecurity educator at George Jenkins High School in Lakeland, Florida, where he leads the school’s cybersecurity academy. But unlike many people in the field, Austin didn’t start in technology. He started as an AP history teacher and was recruited into cybersecurity after his administrators saw something beyond technical skills: his ability to question, teach, build relationships, and connect with students.
In this episode, Austin shares how he went from knowing almost nothing about cybersecurity to building and teaching an evolving cybersecurity program. He breaks down why teaching cyber means constantly rebuilding the curriculum, how to separate foundational skills from technology that will quickly become outdated, and why students don’t need to be “super, super technical” to get started.
Live from CyberLaunch 2026, Austin shares his experience preparing high school students for cybersecurity careers, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and communication and how CTF competitions reveal natural leaders in the classroom. He also explains why resilience and the ability to “figure it out” may be some of the most important skills a future cybersecurity professional can develop.
He also shares what it’s like when everyone assumes the cyber teacher knows everything about computers, why students from completely different backgrounds can thrive in cybersecurity, and how his school’s administrators took a chance on him and continued to support him every step of the way.
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Cybersecurity Education
02:58 Transitioning from History to Cybersecurity
05:52 Curriculum Development in a Fast-Paced Field
09:02 Student Diversity and Soft Skills in Cybersecurity
12:09 Challenges and Resilience in Cyber Competitions
