Gracie Weymouth takes a break Wednesday from classwork in her cloud computing class. Weymouth, 21, of Canaan, is a senior cybersecurity major at Thomas College. Weymouth worked in a study room at the school’s academic center in Waterville. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
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We can thank people like Gracie Weymouth when we consider how critical it is that our personal and national security information are kept safe from those who would do us harm.

Weymouth, 21, of Canaan, is studying cybersecurity and computer science at Thomas College in Waterville, where she is learning how to help protect computers, networks, programs and data. Ethical hacking, cyberwarfare, computer forensics and cybersecurity defenses are just some of the areas she has studied.

“It’s about understanding how technology can be used for malicious purposes and actually working to prevent and protect those who cannot protect themselves,” Weymouth said.

In addition to being a full-time student, Weymouth works about 20 hours a week at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan as a computer technician. She did an internship at RFGH last summer and works there full time during the summer and on school breaks. Security is extremely important in health care, she said.

“I’m like a technician with just a little bit extra,” she said. “I enjoy it. I get to use what I learn in school at work, and I get to use what I learn at work in school.”

Weymouth also interned last year with the Maine Municipal Association, where she helped improve MMA’s cyber liability insurance policies for use by municipalities. She was there about 4 1/2 months, helping to develop cybersecurity and computer policies.

“That was definitely a big learning curve but I had a lot of fun,” she said. “It was a different experience than what I had been used to. I had to adjust my mindset and think about what towns and counties have for their infrastructure.”

Weymouth has been financially independent for the last three years but moved onto to campus this school year because it made financial sense. Supporting herself while attending school has been very difficult, but she has forged through.

“I don’t regret it, and I’d do it again if I was given the chance,” she said. “It taught me a lot of things about myself and it will make the victory of finishing so much sweeter.”

Gracie Weymouth, a senior cybersecurity major at Thomas College, completes classwork in her cloud computing class while working in a study room at the school’s academic center in Waterville. Weymouth, 21, is from Canaan, and plans to continue her education. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
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Weymouth will be graduating early from Thomas because she took extra classes and enrolled in some summer classes. She will march at Thomas’ graduation ceremonies this May but will actually finish her classes in December this year, she said.

After graduating, she plans to move to southern Maine, land a job there and enroll in an online masters program in cybersecurity at Thomas.

“It’s a field that’s always growing and changing,” she said.

She explained that there are various areas of cybersecurity that she could work in, including governance, which includes policy writing and ensuring data is accurate and usable, as well as private and safe.

“I’m really interested in governance,” she said. “I would definitely be looking for a governance role.”

Weymouth lived with her family in Alaska until she was 10, when they moved to Canaan to be closer to family. As a child, she wanted to become a biomedical engineer, but woke up one day as a senior at Skowhegan Area High School, from which she graduated in 2022, and something just clicked in her mind, she said.

“I remember going into the living room and telling my mom and dad I don’t want to do that — I want to go into computer science and cybersecurity.”

When she started classes at Thomas, she said, she felt as if she didn’t know what she was doing, but eventually settled in, grew more confident and became fascinated with computer science. She learned how dangerous the world is but one must not lose sleep over it, she said, and instead focus on what can be done to combat it.

Gracie Weymouth, a senior cybersecurity major at Thomas College, walks to a study room at school’s academic center in Waterville Weymouth, 21 of Canaan, will march at graduation in May but will complete her classwork next fall. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
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“It’s a scary world, but our teachers here do a really good job of preparing us,” Weymouth said. “You see a lot of stuff you don’t necessarily want to see. You start to learn how fragile other parts of the world are.”

She has enjoyed her time at Thomas, where she has been on the president’s list (with a grade point average of 3.8-4.0) just about every semester. She credits her professors, including Frank Apunn, who teaches cybersecurity and project management, for much of her success and fascination with the subject.

“He’s insanely brilliant and very well respected in the field,” she said. “The community here is built to make you succeed in ways you didn’t think were possible and I couldn’t be more grateful for this college. The opportunities you get here are unlike any other, and your teachers root for you.”

Amy Calder has been a Morning Sentinel reporter 36 years. Her columns appear here Saturdays. She is the author of the book, “Comfort is an Old Barn,” a collection of her curated columns, published in 2023 by Islandport Press. She may be reached at acalder@centralmaine.com. For previous Reporting Aside columns, go to centralmaine.com