Meet the Faces of PA Cyber

Willow Wilkerson

Elementary student in Wilkes-Barre

Why did you enroll at PA Cyber?

We were worried about school safety. We love the freedom we have at PA Cyber.

What is your favorite school subject?

Math, because it's so easy.

What do you like to do outside of school?

Play with my friends, craft, sudoku, and dance.

How did you benefit from being able to choose your school?

I get to do so many different activities and hang out with my family more. I didn't like my other school because I missed my mom too much!

Vanessa Van Fosson

Elementary student in Pittsburgh

Why did you enroll at PA Cyber?

I have Apraxia of Speech and ADHD and needed a school that would work with me.

What is your favorite school subject?

Language Arts is my favorite because I like spelling words and love to read.

What do you like to do outside of school?

I like to play outside and do crafts like making paper dolls.

What are your goals for after graduation?

I want to go to school to become an artist or a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP). An artist because I love to draw and create things. An SLP because I'd like to be able to help other kids with Apraxia just like me.

Elijah Maeding

Middle school student in Northampton County

What led you to enroll at PA Cyber?

I enrolled at PA Cyber because my oldest brother had an intestine transplant in May 2020, and my family needed to be safe through COVID for his health. Some of my older siblings had already gone to PA Cyber. Then, when I started gymnastics, PA Cyber let me be more flexible so I could go to practice, meets, and camps and still get all my schoolwork done.

What is your favorite school subject?

My favorite class this past year was Coding and 3D Design with Mr. Cilli. Learning how to use Tinkercad was fun, and I liked seeing my 3D projects after they were printed.

My favorite thing to learn about is tornadoes. I have about 40 index cards with each one describing important facts about individual tornadoes.

What are your interests outside of school?

My favorite thing outside of school is gymnastics. I go to practice six days a week. As an elite athlete, I have to balance school and gymnastics, and cyber school lets me do this successfully. I have National Team camps every two to three months at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, gymnastics meets all over the country (my furthest this year was California), and I spend a lot of time in the gym practicing.

What are your goals for after graduation?

After graduation I would like to qualify to go to the Olympics and be an Olympic medalist. I would also like to compete at a D1 college in Men’s Gymnastics. I want to be a research meteorologist and a severe weather forecaster because I want to study tornadoes.

Théo Aubry

Middle school student in Pittsburgh

What led you to enroll at PA Cyber?

I enrolled in PA Cyber for kindergarten, so it was not my choice at that time. I continue to enroll in PA Cyber each year because I have the freedom to participate in many extracurricular activities while getting a good education.

What is your favorite school subject?

My favorite subject is science because I enjoy doing experiments and understanding how things work.

What are your interests outside of school?

Every day after school I attend ballet classes. Ballet is my favorite activity. I also recently got into baking. I like riding my bike, rollerblading, and hanging out with my friends.

What is your goal for after graduation?

My goal for after graduation is to get into a ballet company or ballet apprenticeship. I also plan to go to college, but I am not yet sure what I will study.

Emily Miner

High school student in Fayette County

What led you to enroll at PA Cyber?

I had been wanting to enroll in cyber school for some time before I actually did. My parents enrolled my sister and me at PA Cyber during COVID in 2021, and I have excelled. I love it!

What is your favorite school subject?

I absolutely adore science/biology! One of my all-time favorite classes has been Bioinformatics with Ms. Moon.

Do you have a favorite school club?

I thoroughly enjoy all of my clubs, but I really enjoy the opportunities that the Youth Ambassador Club provides.

What are your interests outside of school?

I enjoy showing my goats and learning as much as I can about them as a species. Aside from that, I love kayaking, fishing, hiking, cross-country skiing, and agility with my dogs.

How did you benefit from being able to choose your school?

I've been able to work with a more flexible daily schedule and accelerate my learning.

What are your goals for after graduation?

I plan on attending West Virginia University for my undergraduate schooling, and then Purdue or Texas A&M to obtain my Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. I would also like to get more involved with the American Dairy Goat Association as a licensed judge, eventually as an appraiser, and continue progressing my own herd of registered/performance dairy goats.

Mylo Moel

High school student in Fayette County

What led you to enroll at PA Cyber?

I enrolled at PA Cyber in 2nd grade because the traditional public school system just didn’t fit my needs. I often finished my work earlier than the other students and would start quietly drawing while I waited, but I was sometimes scolded for being “distracting” instead of being encouraged. PA Cyber’s flexibility allowed me to thrive in a learning environment that supported the way I learned, rather than holding me back from it.

What is your favorite class?

My favorite classes are Physics and AP United States History! Mrs. Butler and Mr. Houlihan are both amazing.

What are your interests outside of school?

I love reading, traveling, and all things history. I’ve always been interested in learning about different cultures, perspectives, and moments in time because I think they help us better understand both where we come from and where we’re going.

How did you benefit from being able to choose your school?

PA Cyber has been incredible for me because, despite my academic rigor, my schedule is so flexible. I’m a student pilot working toward my private pilot’s license, I train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I serve on the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Next Generation Engagement, work with Glisten on their Research team, belong to Work2BeWell’s National Student Advisory Council, and am the Youth Voice Fellow with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh. I wouldn't be able to dedicate the proper time to any of that without PA Cyber’s flexibility.

What are your goals for after graduation?

After graduation, I want to attend Carnegie Mellon University and study Physics with a minor in Anthropology. I would also like to continue flying and being an advocate. I think there needs to be more researchers in STEM fields who have an ethics background as well!

Joe Buhagiar

Alumni in Beaver County

What have you been up to since graduation in 2023?

I've been working as a security engineer at a cybersecurity provider called NaviSec. Day to day, I handle incident response, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing. I also have a business on the side called Nyan Devices, where we build and develop the nyanBOX™, a portable wireless security toolkit for exploring, auditing, and performing offensive testing on Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and radio frequency signals around you.

How did PA Cyber prepare you for this path?

PA Cyber gave me a fun and exciting way to learn while offering a wide variety of STEM-focused clubs to get involved with. That's what got me really focused on embedded controller development and 3D printing, both of which are core to how Nyan Devices and the nyanBOX come together.

How did you benefit from being able to choose your school?

It allowed me to learn at my own pace and focus on the things that piqued my interest, like the STEM-focused clubs.

What advice would you give to students currently enrolled at PA Cyber?

Keep your long-term goals in mind. Something that starts as a simple hobby can turn into an exciting business opportunity if you have the passion to keep learning.