Through partnerships with Tulane University's School of Professional Advancement and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, program graduates are also finding they can turn the industry-based credentials earned at Operation Spark into college credits.

Jessica Pickering, a 2022 Templeton Fellow within the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Africa Program, will graduate from Tulane Univeristy with an MA in Homeland Security and a certificate in intelligence.

With a computer science master’s degree from Boston University, Bousquet’s income derives from a variety of computer-related gigs, including teaching a class in cybersecurity at Tulane University and providing expert testimony in legal cases involving mobile phone technology.

“Consumers filling up their gas tank are feeling the effects of the high prices,” said Dr. Kay McLennan. She’s a professor at Tulane University.

"When criminals attack individual users, they often ask for small amounts of money, as they know most individuals can't or won't pay thousands of dollars to get their data back," said Randall Magiera, cybersecurity expert and professor of information technology at Tulane University.