MINS 00–15
Kickoff, Local Job Board & Intros
Welcome new HGTC & CCU students, announce open Horry County IT/cyber internships and roles, and introduce visiting guest mentors.
MONTHLY OPEN LAB // CONWAY, SC (NOV LOCATION: TBD) // $0 ADMISSION
Where Horry County students & tech pros build skills, resumes, and careers together.
Conway Computer Club (CCC) is a free, open-to-the-public monthly gathering for computing & cybersecurity students at HGTC and CCU, software engineers, sysadmins, and local IT leaders. We kick off in November 2026 (Location: TBD — Conway / Horry County) with dedicated Cyber & IT Career Advice, Job Market Strategy, and 1-on-1 Resume Reviews, followed by monthly hands-on technical labs.
CADENCE
Monthly (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
NOV 2026 LOCATION
TBD (Conway / Horry County, SC)
COST TO STUDENTS
$0.00 (501c3 Funded)
01 // STANDARD 2-HOUR LAB ARCHITECTURE
Zero Fluff. Half Career Mentorship, Half Hands-On Lab.
Every monthly Conway Computer Club session follows a disciplined 120-minute run-of-show designed to give students both immediate career feedback and keyboard/soldering-iron time.
MINS 15–45 // MENTOR VILLAGE BLOCK
Career Clinic & Resume Engineering
Working CISOs, IT Directors, and senior practitioners conduct live 1-on-1 resume teardowns, mock interview Q&A, and career path mapping.
MINS 45–105 // OPEN LAB
60-Minute Hands-On Technical Lab
Break into guided stations: Raspberry Pi 5 networking & Linux cyber range, microcontroller & electronics prototyping, cloud/SOC defense labs, or team CTF exercises.
MINS 105–120+
Lightning Demos & Peer Networking
Demo student projects or lab solutions, followed by informal Q&A and mentorship networking in Conway.
02 // 2026–2027 ACADEMIC SCHEDULE
5-Month Student Career & Lab Roadmap
Starting in November 2026 (Location: TBD — Announced after this weekend's Hackathon & campus coordination), Conway Computer Club runs monthly sessions designed around student career readiness and practical engineering skills.
MONTH 01 // LOC: TBD
NOV 2026
Go-Live Kickoff: Cyber & IT Career Roadmap, Job Strategy & 1-on-1 Resume Reviews
Bring your current resume (or start from scratch): live 1-on-1 resume reviews, how to translate HGTC/CCU classes & home labs into job offers, LinkedIn/GitHub optimization, and Student Officer onboarding. (Location: TBD in Conway / Horry County).
CAREER & RESUME KICKOFF
MONTH 02 // LOC: TBD
DEC 2026
Embedded Systems, Microcontrollers & Hands-On Soldering Lab
Introduction to electronics prototyping, USB-C soldering stations, microcontroller firmware fundamentals, and building your GitHub hardware/code portfolio.
ELECTRONICS LAB
MONTH 03 // LOC: TBD
JAN 2027
Spring Kickoff Cyber Defense & Collegiate CTF Workshop (HGTC + CCU)
Pair students with experienced mentors to work through defensive security, forensics, network analysis, and Linux troubleshooting challenges.
CYBER LAB
MONTH 04 // LOC: TBD
FEB 2027
Student Technical Presentation Incubator: 15-Minute Lightning Demos
Coach 4–6 HGTC/CCU students and local engineers to deliver short technical presentations—building public speaking confidence for job interviews.
SPEAKER INCUBATOR
MONTH 05 // LOC: TBD
MAR 2027
Mentor Village Career Night: Local CISOs, MSPs & Hiring Managers
Bring regional IT & security executives from across Horry County into the lab to conduct mock technical interviews and connect directly with graduating students.
EMPLOYER NIGHT
03 // MOBILE LAB INFRASTRUCTURE
What We Bring Into the Classroom
Funded by Mentor Village, Inc. community grants, our portable lab cases turn any campus classroom or library meeting room into a self-contained networking and computer engineering lab in 15 minutes.
8-Node Raspberry Pi 5 Cluster & Managed Switch
Local isolated lab VLAN running Linux servers, Active Directory training containers, and network packet analysis exercises—no campus firewall changes required.
10x Portable Soldering & Microcontroller Stations
Temperature-controlled USB-C soldering irons, logic analyzers, multimeters, fume extractors, and ESP32/RP2040 microcontroller learning kits.
Defensive Security & Interview Prep Modules
Guided SIEM/log analysis exercises, hardware security keys, and structured technical interview & resume engineering workbooks.
Accessible Computing & Tactile Tracing Kits
Braille and high-contrast labeled patch cabling, audio-continuity testers, and screen-magnification profiles so visually impaired, low-vision, and neurodivergent tech learners participate equally.
04 // FIELD EXPEDITIONS & CONFERENCES
Where Conway Computer Club Deploys
We don't stay in the lab. Through Mentor Village, Inc. student conference scholarships and travel grants, club members travel, compete in collegiate CTFs, and present offensive and defensive security research across the region.
SPRING 2027 // MYRTLE BEACH
HOME TURF // HOST
Hack the Beach 2027
📍 Conway & Myrtle Beach, SC
Our home hacking conference and collegiate CTF competition organized with Mentor Village, Inc. Features student villages, hardware hacking stations, and regional SOC recruiting.
WINTER 2026–2027 // REGIONAL
SPEAKER & SQUAD
BSides Charleston & Greenville
📍 Charleston & Greenville, SC
Regional cybersecurity community conferences where club founder Joe Brinkley presents on tactile hardware hacking and student cohorts attend subsidized by Mentor Village, Inc.
JANUARY 2027 // MID-ATLANTIC
RESEARCH FIELD TRIP
ShmooCon 2027
📍 Washington, DC
Iconic East Coast hacker convention bringing deep technical exploit and defense research. CCC leaders connect with national labs, federal security directors, and alumni.
AUGUST 2027 // LAS VEGAS
THE BIG SHOW
DEF CON 35 / Black Hat USA
📍 Las Vegas, NV
The pinnacle gathering for hardware hacking, wireless security, and adversarial defense. CCC alumni and student scholars participate in community villages and hardware workshops.
05 // CAMPUS & CIVIC PARTNERSHIPS
Built for Horry-Georgetown Technical College & Coastal Carolina University
Conway Computer Club works directly with department chairs, faculty champions, and student club officers at HGTC and CCU to complement classroom curricula with practical career mentorship and lab hours.
- Zero Cost to Host: Fully operated under Mentor Village, Inc. (SC 501(c)(3) Public Benefit Nonprofit — EIN: 43-2521194).
- Student Leadership Roles: Dedicated Student Liaison & Lab Coordinator roles for HGTC and CCU students to build leadership credentials on their resumes.
- Direct Employer Pipeline: Connects Horry County computing students directly with local IT directors, CISOs, and hiring managers.
06 // JOIN THE ROSTER (NOV LOCATION: TBD)
RSVP for the Nov Career & Resume Kickoff, or Volunteer as a Mentor
Students (`.edu` welcome), local engineers, and Horry County IT leaders: select your role below to register for the November 2026 Kickoff (Location TBD — emailed to all RSVPs once finalized).