We speak with Kyla Guru, 16 year old Founder & CEO of Bits N' Bytes Cybersecurity Education, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing awareness, literacy, and fluency in privacy and cybersecurity. We discuss how she got interested in the industry, the challenges she has faced, the successes of her initiatives, and how you can get involved.
Guest: Kyla Guru, Founder & CEO of Bits N’ Bytes Cybersecurity Education
Ever since Kyla was a little girl, she has always dreamed of being an influential figure in STEM and inspiring others to do the same. In October of 2017, at the start of her freshman year of high school, Kyla became the founder of Bits N’ Bytes Cybersecurity Education. From this point, the impacts of her projects skyrocketed.
Awards/Honors
- The President’s Volunteer Service Award Gold Medal – 2015
- Prudential Spirit of the Community Distinguished Finalist – 2015
- Patriot Pen Writing Competition Regional Winner – 2016
- Huskie Hackathon Energy Innovation Winner – 2016
- NCWIT Aspirations in Computing National Honorable Mention – 2017
- NCWIT Northern Illinois Competition Winner – 2017
- Illinois State DECA Marketing Management Team Decision Making Gold Medal – 2017
- Illinois State DECA Independent Business Plan Top 10 Finalist – 2017
- Stanford University She++ #include Fellow – 2017
- Deerfield Optimist Club Service Recognition Award – 2017
- Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics Student Achievement Award – 2017
- NCWIT Aspirations in Computing National Winner- 2018
- Three Dot Dash Global Teen Leader- 2018
- T-Mobile Changemaker Challenge Winner- 2018
- Facebook Community Leadership Fellow- 2018