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Two years ago, neither of them planned to work in cybersecurity. Thesha Mae Cabangon was set on accountancy. Chryszey Del Monte didn't know where to start in IT. Today, both are WorldSkills competitors and teammates — regional gold medalists heading toward Nationals, with ASEANWorldSkills 2026 in their sights.
Their path runs through Radenta Academy, a TESDA-accredited training arm of Radenta based in Biñan, Laguna, and the only provider in the region offering specialized cybersecurity competition training. This is their story — and a look at what it actually takes to train aWorldSkills-caliber cybersecurity athlete.
WorldSkills is often mistaken for a school contest. It isn't. Competitors work under real-world, enterprise-grade conditions: hardening live systems, deploying firewalls, and defending networks against simulated attacks — with no partial credit for a good attempt. A single misconfigured port or misplaced character in a script can lock a competitor out entirely.
"If a service is down, you get zero," Del Monte explained. "The speed and precision required are mind-blowing...every minute wasted searching for a command is a minute a hacker could use to compromise the network."
Both competitors described the same defining pressure: in the classroom, mistakes are lessons. In competition, mistakes cost you.
Cabangon's account of the opening moment says it best:
"The servers were humming — that low, steady buzz you feel in your chest more than you hear with your ears... Right away, the network wouldn't connect. First task, and something was already off."
Del Monte faced a nearly identical crisis onstage:
"Almost immediately, disaster struck — our internet connection dropped. In cybersecurity, you cannot afford to lose connection... my hands were literally shaking on the keyboard. But we couldn't just freeze. We took a deep breath, blocked out the cold, and worked together to debug the connection."
Neither froze. That's not an accident — it's the product of specific training.
Neither competitor set out to specialize in cybersecurity.
Cabangon was headed toward accountancy before college placed her in IT. Unsure of her direction, she found Radenta Academy and enrolled despite serious self-doubt: "What if I wasn't good enough? What if I couldn't keep up?" On day one, she says, she knew almost nothing — no networking knowledge, no Linux experience, firewalls a complete mystery.
Del Monte already knew she wanted cybersecurity, but couldn't find a real entry point. A missed TESDA enrollment for her first-choice course led her and her teammates to take Electronics instead —what felt like a detour. Months later, a TESDA administrator called, saying a company called Radenta was looking for "athletes." She didn't know Radenta was a tech company running its own accredited academy until she showed up. When she learned they trained specifically for cybersecurity competition —the only program of its kind in Laguna — it became, in her words, "the exact opportunity I had been looking for."
Both stories point to the same reality: Radenta Academy functions as a specialized on-ramp for students who have the aptitude for cybersecurity but no clear path into it.
Ask either competitor what changed her trajectory, and neither credits theory. Both point to specific, hands-on structures built into Radenta's program.
Curriculum designed by leadership, not outsourced. The competition modules used for WorldSkills CALABARZON were personally built by Radenta's President, Randall. "It's rare to find a company president who is so hands-on," Del Monte noted, calling it industry-grade material"designed specifically to make us win."
A layered coaching structure, not a single instructor. Del Monte's training moved through distinct roles: mentor Jasper, who broke complex processes down "until they became second nature"; Jaison, who provided step-by-step support through intimidating configurations; and Marck Anthony, who ran timed drills, threw unexpected scenarios at competitors, and taught them to control panic under pressure. Behind the technical coaching, Dianne managed equipment, logistics, and day-to-day organization — freeing the athletes to focus entirely on skill-building.
Repetition until instinct, not memorization. "It wasn't just about finishing tasks," Cabangon said. "It was about doing them over and over until they became second nature" — Linux configurations, firewall setups, server management, network troubleshooting, drilled until they no longer required conscious thought.
A shift from passive to active learning. Del Monte described her study habits transforming entirely: she stopped reading modules and highlighting text, and started deliberately breaking systems to learn how to fix them — building her own lab environments, documenting errors, training against the clock.
The through-line across both accounts isn't equipment or facilities — it's proximity to mentors who were personally invested in their outcome, and a training structure built to simulate real competitive pressure long before the actual event.
Both athletes arrived at a similar conclusion, independently.
"Skill isn't something you're born with," Cabangon said. "It's something you build."
Del Monte put it more directly, addressing anyone who sees technical trades as a fallback: "The world runs on the people who actually know how things work. Having a highly specialized, hands-on skill isn't a safety net — it is a superpower."
It's a pointed rebuttal to the assumption that specialized technical training is a lesser or "backup" path compared to a traditional four-year degree — made credible precisely because it's coming from people who lived both sides of that choice.
Both competitors have already won gold at the provincial and regional levels. Nationals is next, with qualification for ASEAN WorldSkills 2026 on the line.
Neither treats this as a finish line. Del Monte says she can see herself returning to Radenta professionally down the road, calling it "not just where I learned the technical skills — it's where I was built as a professional." Cabangon, still figuring out her longer-term path, says success in five years simply means doing work that "actually fulfills" her.
Closing out their interviews, each left a piece of advice for anyone starting the same journey.
Del Monte: "Never let the fear of a system crash stop you, because the hardest bugs always lead to your greatest breakthroughs."
Cabangon: "Never stop looking for what's right for you — because sometimes, what's meant for you will find you."
Radenta Academy is a TESDA-accredited training academy based in the Philippines with two working Branches, Binan, Laguna and Mandaluyong City operated by the tech company Radenta Technologies, Inc. It provides specialized, hands-on cybersecurity training and prepares student athletes to compete in WorldSkills competitions at the provincial, regional, national, and international level.
Training combines a competition curriculum developed directly by Radenta's leadership with layered, mentor-led coaching: concept instruction, guided hands-on practice, and high-pressure timed drills that simulate real competition conditions. Students train through repetition on real systems — configuring networks, hardening servers, and troubleshooting under time pressure — rather than through classroom theory alone.
Yes. Radenta Academy is accredited by TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority).
Radenta Academy has two locations — its original branch in Biñan, Laguna, and a second branch in Mandaluyong. According to its student athletes, it is currently the only provider in the Laguna area offering specialized, competition-focused cybersecurity training.
Radenta Academy athletes Thesha Mae Cabangon and Chryszey Del Monte won gold at the provincial and regional levels of WorldSkills CALABARZON in the cybersecurity category, and are currently preparing for National competition with the goal of qualifying for ASEAN WorldSkills 2026.
Students with an interest in IT or cybersecurity— regardless of prior technical background — have been trained through the program. Both featured athletes started with little to no networking or systems experience before enrolling.
Yes. Alongside its WorldSkills cybersecurity training track, Radenta Academy offers courses in Generative AI, Contact Center Services, and Data Analytics, available at both its Biñan and Mandaluyong branches.
Yes. In addition to its TESDA accreditation, Radenta Academy holds accreditation with Fortinet's FortiAcademy and EC-Council, aligning its training with recognized industry standards in network security and ethical hacking/cybersecurity certification.
To learn more about Radenta Academy and its TESDA-accredited courses, call (04)-94542102 or email info@radenta.com.
Connect with Radenta Academy:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/radentaacademy/
Instagtam: https://www.instagram.com/radentaacademy/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/radenta-academy/
