Sunday, November 27, 2011

Bemley Scholar Allen Warner Heads to Valdosta State University

Allen Warner earned a Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship as a result of the outstanding performance by him and his teammates (see above photo) in the 2011 BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship held in Chicago IL. He plans to use his college scholarship to defray the costs of attending Valdosta State University where he plans to major in 'computer science'.

Allen shared his thoughts on his BDPA experiences with us:


My name is Allen Warner. I am currently 17 years old, born in Tallahassee, Florida. I’ve grown up most of my life in Georgia. I have been learning about computers and anything that has to do with art for about 10 years now. At school I enjoy working on music, poetry, short stories, graphic designs and web layouts. I’ve started my own company and my talents have been noticed by people who could help me later on in my life. I’m seeking a degree in Computer Science, with a minor in Business or Art. I plan to attend Valdosta State University and study subjects such as: Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Graphic Design, Mass Media, Photography, Animation, and Web Design. This will lead me to a large range of jobs in the world since the world is basically run off technology and business.

I currently attend Berkmar High School as a senior. I have done lots of things around the school. For example, I’ve designed the Soccer team t-shirts and scarf’s, Student Council T-shirts, Multi-Cultural Club T-shirts, Class of 2012 Senior Shirts, Homecoming Posters/Tickets and currently working on Prom Designs. Also, I am a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and Student Council. My focus is mostly on my school work now. I will have time in the future to look for employment.

I didn’t have a good impression of BDPA and its high school computer competition (HSCC) program when I first heard about it. I thought it was going to be a bunch of nerds messing around on the computer. My counselor signed me up for the HSCC program without telling me about her action. I thought it was going to be a waste of my summer. All of that changed when I started looking more into it and actually looking at some stuff from the other chapters and talking to some of the older members. I got more interested as I discovered that a majority of the HSCC class was filled with students from my school.

We learned all these things that I never thought I would know, such as CSS, HTML, PHP, Databases, and Binary Numbers. Basically it was high school on the weekends, without all of the drama. It started to get easier each and every day as we continued on with our learning. Soon I became one of the top 5 students in the class.

My coaches always made us feel like family, hanging out, talking and joking around, and they even made the class much easier and fun to be in. I’m very glad I entered this and went through with it. I’ve met lots of people in the HSCC program, such as technical professionals from IBM and Macy’s. I also met a graphic designer from Converse who was interested in some of my work. Without HSCC I would never have been this interested in computer programming the way I am now. Also, they helped me learn additional information, and how to work with a team, and to depend on one another on a day-to-day basis.

Thank You BDPA for All You Help!
Allen Warner, Senior (Class of 2012)
Berkmar High School

BDPA is very proud of Allen and his teammates. We hope that his testimonial will encourage other high school students in Atlanta and around the nation to take a look at the BDPA youth education programs available to them.  

Quite frankly, we also hope that you've seen enough of the magic of BDPA through Allen's words that you will consider making a secure online donation to support BDPA Atlanta college scholarships for future HSCC students!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great Job! "Coming from Another Warner!"