The university’s business cybersecurity major has taken off, and senior Mallory Hamilton has reaped the benefits. Hamilton used experiences and teachings from her coursework to help her win the Summer Open 2025 Hackathon.
A hackathon is an event where individuals, or teams, compete to develop new and creative solutions to existing problems. Hamilton claims that hackathons rely on skills such as “creative problem solving” to help the competitors work together in a hands-on experience.
With her teammates, Hunter Forsythe and Williams Beaumont from UAB, Hamilton competed in the cybersecurity category against other developers, designers and tech professionals. These students create functional prototypes, like software tools and security solutions, while under intensive time constraints.
“This hackathon allowed my team and I to solve a real-world problem and bridge gaps between our classroom learning and practical application,” Hamilton said. “We didn’t just have technical growth, but we were able to foster amazing teamwork, communication skills, and presentation skills in just 36 hours.”
In order to prepare, Hamilton and her team studied continuous security assessment integrations, automated employee training and issue detection. Throughout their preparation, they developed a management dashboard to monitor security throughout the company. Their business pitch included visuals, slide decks and a demonstration to display how the management platform functions.
Held virtually over 36 hours, Hamilton’s team met together for collaboration, which launched at 6 a.m. when they received the official prompts. From that moment until submitting their project and presentation, “it was go-time.”
“This experience directly connects to what I’ve been learning in my cybersecurity and information systems courses at The University of Alabama,” Hamilton said. “It reinforced the technical and teamwork skills we practice in class and showed how valuable they are outside the classroom.”
Hamilton described the curriculum at the University as a hands-on, project-based program that implements real-world case studies to assess risks and protect systems and data, all to develop an understanding of cybersecurity’s impacts on organizations.
“The coursework emphasizes problem-solving, critical thinking, and staying current with evolving threats — skills that directly translate to practical experiences like competitions,” Hamilton said. “It’s helped me approach challenges with confidence and work effectively as part of a team.”
She said that business cybersecurity focuses more on the technical side with a holistic view of the business applications, while the cybersecurity major in the College of Engineering emphasizes programming, algorithms and software development.
“Business concepts are deeply integrated into our cybersecurity curriculum in several meaningful ways. We frequently develop business proposals and pitch ideas, which helps us practice essential communication and presentation skills alongside our technical knowledge,” Hamilton said. “This approach prepares us to clearly and professionally explain complex cybersecurityconcepts to non-technical audiences, an important skill in any organization.”
Because of the increasing cyber risks to government and company systems, the studies within this major are becoming more prevalent. The integrated learning program gives students career opportunities, like the Hackathon, that allow them to put their studies to the test in a real-world environment.
Hamilton defines her growth as a student by the opportunities she’s found to contribute meaningfully to peers and faculty. The Crimson Defense, the on-campus cybersecurity club, has introduced her to members of different majors, backgrounds and hobbies.
“They welcomed me with open arms, and I have not just been able to gain technical cybersecurity skills, but also a close-knit community of friends I can always rely on,” Hamilton said.
“Programs just like this one often attract a more diverse group of students because we are helping break down traditional barriers,” Hamilton said. “My goal is to encourage and support the next generation of women to confidently enter and thrive in the fields of technology and cybersecurity.”
