{"id":226315,"date":"2026-03-21T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/21\/hicks-helps-lead-uncps-first-cybersecurity-graduates-robesonian\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T15:00:00","slug":"hicks-helps-lead-uncps-first-cybersecurity-graduates-robesonian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/21\/hicks-helps-lead-uncps-first-cybersecurity-graduates-robesonian\/","title":{"rendered":"Hicks helps lead UNCP\u2019s first cybersecurity graduates \u2013 Robesonian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hicks helps lead UNCP\u2019s first cybersecurity graduates \u2013 Robesonian<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.robesonian.com\/news\/338612\/hicks-helps-lead-uncps-first-cybersecurity-graduates<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-03-21 11:00:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.robesonian.com<\/a><\/p>\n

PEMBROKE \u2014 When Phillip Hicks arrived at UNC Pembroke as a freshman, the university\u2019s cybersecurity program was still in its trial phase. This May, the Red Springs native will help make history as one of the first graduates of UNCP\u2019s standalone Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity program.<\/p>\n

For Hicks, the journey to cyber sleuthing didn\u2019t begin with computers \u2014 it started in farm fields and hardware stores.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil my senior year of high school, I was set on becoming an agriculture education major,\u201d Hicks said. \u201cI was president of FFA. I grew up working hands-on \u2014 farming, ag mechanics, helping at the hardware store.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father, Chris Hicks, a 1996 UNCP graduate, instilled in him the value of hard work. His late grandfather, Talmadge Evers, worked for Lumbee River Electric Cooperative (LREMC). Farming, mechanics and service were part of daily life. But during Hicks\u2019 senior year of high school, a cybersecurity incident targeting LREMC changed everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hit close to home,\u201d he said. \u201cSomeone was posing as a customer trying to gain access to account information. It made me realize how vulnerable systems can be \u2014 especially locally.\u201d<\/p>\n

After touring UNCP\u2019s campus and seeing the new cyber lab, his focus shifted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a polarizing moment,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw everything UNCP had to offer, and it just clicked.\u201d<\/p>\n

UNCP launched its standalone cybersecurity degree in fall 2022 to meet the growing demand for trained professionals. While cybersecurity tracks previously existed within other IT programs, this marked the university\u2019s first dedicated degree in the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came here, the program was going through its first run with our class,\u201d Hicks said. \u201cI looked at the electives \u2014 digital forensics, cryptography \u2014 and it pretty much described the career I wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Self-taught in many ways, Hicks supplemented his coursework by devouring YouTube tutorials and leaning on tech-savvy family members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always…<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hicks helps lead UNCP\u2019s first cybersecurity graduates \u2013 Robesonian https:\/\/www.robesonian.com\/news\/338612\/hicks-helps-lead-uncps-first-cybersecurity-graduates Publish Date: 2026-03-21 11:00:00 Source…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-226315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cybersecurity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226315"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226315\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}