arek Bentley has been studying the art of 
“hacking” for years. In a fi eld where doing 

is learning, the Amarillo High School senior 

experiments in some harmless ways to hone 

his hacking skills. He watches Black Hat 

Briefi ngs and DEF CON Conferences on 

YouTube.  When he graduates, he plans 

to study computer science and software 

engineering at the University of Texas—

Dallas, with the long term career goal of 

becoming a penetration tester and ethical 

hacker. Putting it simply, Barek wants to turn 

the tables on the bad guys, using their own tricks against them. 

“Hacking is a set of skills.  You either use those skills for good 

or you use them for evil. I’ll defi nitely be practicing what the bad 
guys do and using it for good,” says Barek.

 Anyone who is paying attention knows there will be plenty 

of opportunity for Barek to do so. In 2017, there were more 
than 1,000 data breaches in the industries of banking, business, 
education, the government and healthcare. “It’s a growing need. 
As everything becomes more and more digital and we move 
away from paper, we need to protect those systems like our bank 
accounts,” says Barek. “The time is now. We don’t need to wait 
because we think it’s not here yet. It’s defi nitely here.”

A quick search on the internet employment website 

monster.com reveals thousands of job opportunities under 
the term “ethical hacking.” The current average salary for an 
ethical hacker is $71,000, but many, who work freelance or on 
contract like Barek hopes to, make well into six-fi gures. According 
to one recent industry survey, most companies that responded 
said less than a quarter of applicants for cyber security positions 
were qualifi ed. On top of that, the applicant pool is shallow. 
This is true among almost every career in the so-called STEM 
fi elds of science, technology, engineering and math, where job 
opportunities vastly outpace qualifi ed candidates.   

For budding cyber superheroes like Barek, that’s both good and 

bad news. He’ll have job security, but until a new crop of cyber 
security experts is ready to go to work, Barek says businesses in 
the U.S. are vulnerable. “It is an exploding job market that we’re 
behind in, having to compete with other countries that have 
entire buildings dedicated to hacking,” says Barek. “America is 
lagging behind so I defi nitely want to be on the defensive for the 
United States.”

Amarillo ISD is working to make sure Barek and students like 

him have the educational support to prepare them for the college 
and career opportunities of the STEM revolution, starting with a 
vision that began taking shape a few years ago.

Thinkers, Communicators, 
Collaborators, Contributors

“When we heard from the community what they wanted 

for their own children who go to our schools and what they 
wanted for business and industry here in Amarillo, it wasn’t for 
students to do well on a test. That wasn’t their concern at all,” 
says Superintendent Dr. Dana West. “Their concern was whether 
their child will be able to create a future in a world with jobs we 
can’t even imagine yet.”

For Dr. West, AISD’s answer to that lies in the District’s vision 

statement. Two years ago, Dr. West, along with AISD’s chief 
executive offi cers, high school principals, school board members 
and students came together with more than 60 community leaders 
for a series of brainstorming sessions. Their challenge was to 
identify the skills and characteristics necessary to build the dynamic 
workforce our community needs. The product of the group, their 
vision—to empower scholars to be thinkers, communicators, 
collaborators and contributors—became AISD’s vision.

Ethical Hacker:

Computer security expert who specializes in 

penetration testing and in other testing methodologies to 

ensure the security of an organization’s information systems. 

$71,000: Current average salary for a Certifi ed Ethical Hacker.

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    »     AMARILLO ISD