The Honolulu Community College student club, Hawaii Advanced Technology Society (HATS), placed fourth nationally in the 2026 National Cyber League Competition (NCL). They vied against more than 3,700 university teams from two-year and four-year institutions across the country.
“Working through real-world challenges alongside teammates teaches you things you can’t fully get from a classroom alone, how to trust each other, think under pressure, and grow as a team,” HATS President Nicholas Anich said. “I’m proud of how we performed, and even prouder of the community HATS has built: a group of students who genuinely show up for one another.”
The NCL Competition held in April challenged participants with cybersecurity scenarios, testing essential skills for the IT and cybersecurity workforce. The HATS team was composed of students from Honolulu CC’s Computing, Security & Networking Technologies (CSNT) program, along with CSNT alumni now attending the University of Hawai?i–West Oahu.
“NCL was a great competition to hone and apply the skills I’ve picked up both inside and outside of the classroom,” Anich said. “HATS, the club that competes in events like this, has truly been one of the most rewarding parts of my time at Honolulu CC.”
Years of work
He credited mentors Gerome Catbagan, Jayson Hayworth and Bradley Ramos for their support. Former HATS president Jordan Yamaguchi said the placement was a result of years of effort.
“As the former HATS president, participating in this NCL competition felt like the culmination of all of our current and former HATS members’ hard work,” Yamaguchi said. “We spent several semesters together learning about the different categories in the competition and working out different techniques we could use to help us score higher, so placing fourth in the nation feels incredibly rewarding.”
In 2025, the team earned second place in the At-Large Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, part of the national Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) program. Through competitions such as NCL and CCDC, Honolulu CC students continue to gain hands-on experience while bringing recognition to the college on a national stage.
—By Amelia Oldham