CCIC 2021

Whenever I tell someone about CCIC the first question is always, "how does cybersecurity work with esports?" My response is that in a lot of ways, it doesn't. Of course, CCIC is a great example of where these two fields meet in the middle, and I am so glad that I had this opportunity to make it happen.

I was hired by the California Cybersecurity Institute to "esportsify" their cybersecurity competition, and I believe that I succeeded in that.

One of the main audiences we were targeting with the CCIC broadcast were the parents of the competitors. These are people who wanted the best for their children. They may or may not understand why they're spending hours of precious after-school time sitting on their computer, and it was my job to give them some transparency.

I built up a team of students from scratch, some who I knew, some who I didn't know, and we were off. I interviewed guests, built up educational segments, and did hours upon hours of research into topics I had never explored before. I scripted segments with our target audience in mind, reached out to Twitch for front page access (which they forgot to block us in for, the jerks), and made sure the seven hour run of show was locked and loaded.

When one of the commentators I hired quit one month before the broadcast day, I tried to find a replacement. When it was obvious no student was available to commentate over a cybersecurity competition for seven hours, I stepped up to the plate. My boss was happy, the parents were happy, the sponsors were happy, and I was happy with my performance. What more can you ask for?

Shout out to my team for CCIC, you all crushed it.