HSCC Testimonial: Kunle Roberts (Southern Minnesota)

BDPA Southern Minnesota is the most successful dynasty in the 22-year history of the national High School Computer Competition (HSCC). Students from that chapter have won over $62,000 in scholarship funding from the BDPA Education & Technology Foundation since 2003.

One of the shining stars from the chapter is Kunle Roberts. Kunle is a 3-time national HSCC member. He earned $7,000 in Bemley Scholarships and another $2,500 from the Bank of America Scholarship for BDPA Students. We asked Kunle to share his thoughts on his time with BDPA. Here is his testimonial:

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A lot of my time over the last four years has been contributed to BDPA, and thankfully a lot of it has paid off. I have been in BDPA since 9th grade and I’m happy to say that I’ve continued to participate in HSCC each year. BDPA creates a unique experience for learning a new skill and meeting new people and I’m extremely blessed to have been a part of the Southern Minnesota chapter.

My first year in BDPA was spent crawling my way through things trying to develop an understanding for web programming. Though I had no previous experience with binary, HTML, or ASP.Net, I managed to be chosen as an alternate for the HSCC team by the end of the year. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to the National Conference in Detroit, but after some urging by the chapter’s coordinators I decided to go. At that conference (besides having to wake up early and dress up each day), I had an awesome time. I was completely stunned and amazed by the surroundings of the GM Renaissance Center. I recognized the true scope of BDPA since I was suddenly surrounded by each of the chapters from around the country. After returning from the conference and seeing my teammates win 1st Place, I was sold on BDPA.

The next fall I jumped into BDPA with a renewed fervor. I worked steadily throughout the year and emerged as one of the top five students in the class, earning me a spot on my chapter’s HSCC team. This is where the real work began as our team started to truly train for the competition. We spent many long hours studying together through the summer months. Our team went into the competition confident that we could do well, even though there was only one returning member from the previous year. We did very well despite our inexperience and took 2nd place. We came home happy but with a burning desire to do even better the following year.

My third year in BDPA seemed to go by quickly. The Southern Minnesota chapter had taken steps in streamlining the program and by now nothing was unfamiliar to me. I was once again chosen as an HSCC team member and the other team members were all very capable and experienced. We knew we hadn’t proved anything yet, but we were confident that we had what it took to win. This was exactly what we did, as we took the first place prize in 2007.

BDPA has been a central part of my life and has had a profound effect on me over the last four years. As I head off to Rice University, I am doing so with the goal of majoring in Computer Science, mostly due to the influence of BDPA and web programming. Competing in the HSCC competition is by no means an easy thing to excel at and I am thankful to have found success in it. I am extremely glad to have been a part of the Southern Minnesota chapter, and I look forward to being involved in BDPA in the future.

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Kunle wrote this testimonial before the 2008 national BDPA HSCC held earlier this month in Atlanta. His team defended their national championship! Share some love with Kunle in the COMMENTS section below! What say u?