This year, The New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (NYCHCC) has partnered with Fordham University’s Center for Cybersecurity to provide annual scholarships to students interested in receiving a Master of Science in Cybersecurity. The scholarships total close to $80,000 in a singular year.
Two scholarships have already been awarded, and the NYCHCC and Fordham University will be actively seeking candidates for the 2021-2022 academic year in early 2021.
Eileen Guzzo, a NYCHCC board member and principal of Donnelly & Moore Corp., which specializes in IT consulting and staffing, said the idea was borne of a desire to foster and expand diversity.
“My goal was to develop seminars within the community to help small businesses to implement Cybersecurity and use it to their advantage,” Guzzo said. “I reached out to Fordham, although I didn’t know anyone there, and secured an incredible venue for our seminars.”
Students also don’t need additional experience in order to apply for the scholarship. Undergraduates in fields ranging from psychology and education to law enforcement gravitate to the program. According to Guzzo,”There are three scholarship opportunities available: two that total approximately $21,000 each, and one with a value of more than $41,000.”
As of recently, two such scholarships have been awarded. The first one to Iris Amaya from the Bronx, who had a 4-year IT degree. Through this scholarship Amaya was able to receive additional funding.
“It completely changed her life,” Guzzo said. “This scholarship represented the ideal opportunity for me to take my undergraduate degree in IT and move it to the next level,Cybersecurity is a burgeoning field and now, armed with this degree, I can move forward and make a real contribution to the business community as I apply my skills to an employer.”
