{"id":401891,"date":"2026-09-16T21:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/401891\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T21:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:56:09","slug":"usf-women-led-clubs-build-community-in-gaming-and-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/401891\/","title":{"rendered":"USF women-led clubs build community in gaming and technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>Student leaders at USF\u2019s Fortnite Club and Women in Cybersecurity chapter say their groups offer mentorship and support in fields where women are often underrepresented. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE\/JEREMY MAREADY<\/p>\n

Two student-led organizations at the University of South Florida are working to support women in gaming and cybersecurity, fields where members say women are often outnumbered and face added pressure to prove themselves.<\/p>\n

Cobalt<\/a> estimates that as of 2024, \u201cwomen comprise between 20% and 25% of the global cybersecurity workforce.\u201d Rivaltech<\/a> calculated that \u201cwomen aged 18-35 comprise 30% of all gamers in the US.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Through the USF Fortnite Club<\/a> and the campus chapter of Women in Cybersecurity<\/a>, or WiCyS, student leaders say they are building spaces focused on mentorship and community.<\/p>\n

Grace Swann, a third-year biomedical sciences major, started the Fortnite Club after noticing no similar group existed on campus for one of gaming\u2019s biggest titles.<\/p>\n

\u201cEsports and video games in general have always been such a male-dominated sphere,\u201d said Swann, the club\u2019s founder and two-time president. \u201cI think video games [have] always had such ingrained misogyny in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

USF\u2019s Women in Cybersecurity chapter applies a similar approach to career development by giving their members an opportunity to get further ahead in the tech field, all while working to address gender gaps in the tech sector through career preparation and networking.<\/p>\n

Bryce Forrester, the chapter\u2019s vice president and a cybersecurity major, said visibility of women-led organizations helps build career confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cybersecurity and tech space in general is very male-dominated,\u201d Forrester said. \u201cIf you enter the workforce without having been in a club that was women-led, it could be more intimidating because you feel like you\u2019re kind of alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forrester said that finding community early on transforms how students view their place in the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a part of this club, it helps to show you that you\u2019re not alone and other women are trying to achieve the same goals that you are,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Related: USF students collaborate on solar water heater prototype<\/a><\/p>\n

Swann said that the struggle of being a woman with a male-dominated hobby began long before college, and breaking into the gaming scene meant directly challenging that patriarchal culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since I was a kid, you could kind of feel that you weren\u2019t welcome,\u201d Swann said. \u201cI think that makes it even more important that we force ourselves into these spaces and kind of take up space where we weren\u2019t usually allowed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swann said leadership in gaming spaces often comes with double standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime a woman is in a leadership position, you can\u2019t be too abrasive or you get called emotional,\u201d Swann said. \u201cYou have to find this weird balance between being professional and being respected, which is difficult, especially from your male peers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kemanique Gumbs, the club\u2019s risk manager and a sophomore psychology major, said having women in leadership shapes the club\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that having women in leadership brings out a deeper sense of connection and warmth to the club,\u201d Gumbs said. \u201cIt also creates a sense of safety within the club\u2026because there\u2019s strength in numbers, and sometimes the gaming world can be very hostile towards women and minority groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gumbs said the club prioritizes fun over skill and welcomes players of all experience levels. It holds tryouts for Fortnite tournaments open to both seasoned and casual players.<\/p>\n

Related: The future of sports lies in the hands of pro gamers<\/a><\/p>\n

A similar strategy is used by USF\u2019s Women in Cybersecurity chapter, which aims to close gender inequalities in the computer industry through networking and job preparation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Forrester said visibility of women-led organizations helps build career confidence.<\/p>\n

The chapter hosts industry tours, alumni panels and career development sessions, including r\u00e9sum\u00e9 reviews and LinkedIn workshops, while members work toward CompTIA Security+ certifications this semester, Forrester said.<\/p>\n

She said the panels connecting students with alumni are valuable and give students an opportunity to learn from professionals who once were in their position.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to connect students with people who used to be in their shoes and be able to talk with them,\u201d she said. \u201c[It\u2019s important to] figure out what they did or how their experience at USF led them to become the professional that they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gracie Brunelle, the chapter\u2019s treasurer and a junior cybersecurity major, said the group helped her navigate isolation and imposter syndrome in tech classrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, it\u2019s definitely isolating, and again, you do feel imposter syndrome, especially being one of the only girls in a huge lecture hall,\u201d Brunelle said. \u201cThis organization replaces this intimidating feeling with a shared sense of belonging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brunelle said the trial-and-error nature of cybersecurity makes having a supportive community especially important for students navigating the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCybersecurity is sort of about failing dozens of times until you find a solution,\u201d Brunelle said. \u201cSo having an encouraging and supportive space removes the dread of feeling like you don\u2019t belong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brunelle said students do not need a technical background to get involved with the organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody comes out of the womb knowing how to code and operate a terminal,\u201d Brunelle said. \u201cYou just need to have an affinity for puzzles and problem-solving, and crave a deeper understanding of how things work in the background.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the Fortnite Club\u2019s future, Swann and Gumbs said they want to grow membership and expand merchandise and campus collaborations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brunelle said WiCyS aims to become a talent pipeline for Florida\u2019s defense, intelligence and financial technology sectors while expanding mentorship for high school students and community college transfers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur long-term goal is normalizing women in leadership across every single computing classroom and lab here at the college,\u201d Brunelle said. \u201cThat way, being one of the only women in a lab is just out of the picture. That\u2019s not a thing anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Student leaders at USF\u2019s Fortnite Club and Women in Cybersecurity chapter say their groups offer mentorship and support…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-401891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}