2003 National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Rankings

It is the beginning of a new year ... Is it a good time to look back at our successes in the past? Were any of you members of BDPA in 2003 when we held the national BDPA Technology Conference held in Philadelphia, PA? We had 21 HSCC teams competing for a national championship that year.

BDPA Memphis chapter continued their dominance of the computer competition by winning another championship. They were challenged by the team trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota. The gap between the gold medal and the silver medal was less than 1% of the total points awarded.

Here were the rankings from the 2003 HSCC championships!

1. Memphis - (Auriel Echols, Cornell Gaulman, Brittany Middleton, Trevor Williams and Mitchell Word)
2. Southern Minnesota
3. Chicago
4. Greater Columbia
5. Detroit
6. Greater Tampa Bay
7. Cincinnati
8. New Jersey
9. Columbus
10. Bay Area
11. Dayton
12. Richmond
13. Dallas
14. Los Angeles
15. Washington DC
16. New York
17. Cleveland
18. Charlotte
19. Baltimore
20. Philadelphia
21. South Florida

This was the only competition in the past seven years in which BDPA South Florida competed. I'm hopeful that the new leadership in Miami will result in a team competing for the national championship this year.

The BDPA Foundation wants to provide 2-year scholarship funding to the top five teams this year. However, we need to increase our funding of the Bemley Scholarship Fund in order to do so. Would you care to help us make it so? Use the COMMENTS link below to make a pledge ... or go online to do so.

Did you attend the 2003 BDPA Technology Conference in Philadelphia? If so, what do you remember about it?

HSCC Testimonial: Jamarr Hill (BDPA Detroit, 2003-2004)

Jamarr Hill was a member of the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team trained by BDPA Detroit chapter to compete in the National BDPA HSCC championships held in Philadelphia (2003) and Dallas (2004). He graduated from Martin Luther King High School before studying for a marketing degree at Wayne State University. Jamarr is the owner and chief executive officer of his own company, Balla-Status, Inc.

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I would like to thank Mr. Wayne Hicks for the opportunity to share some experiences that I had as a proud alumni of BDPA’s High School Computer Competition (HSCC). From the moment we tested to see where our skills were, I knew that I would love my journey. I was blessed to have wonderful teachers and excellent sponsors. I learned Java (the best programming language to date) and was able to piece together something that made me feel empowered, creative and cutting-edge. I don't know if BDPA knew it, but they were really preparing me for the future as web applications and design was in its infancy at that time.

After learning a new language and then learning to play a role. We were introduced to an environment that made the inner geek in me smile from ear-to-ear. We traveled to Philadelphia for the 2003 national HSCC championship. There seemed to be thousands of high school aged pioneers at the hotel. We were all there, not just to win, but to learn and grow.

Looking back on those years allowed me to see that I was being steered in a direction that affected my college choices, career choice and life choice. Thank you BDPA. I owe you all my happiness.

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BDPA Education and Technology Foundation is proud to be able to share these HSCC testimonials for posterity. We appreciate Jamarr and the hundreds of other young men and women who have participated in almost 30 years of HSCC championships! We can use your help with funding college scholarships for young people like Jamarr.

HSCC Testimonial * Shayna Toyan-Joy Bradford (Detroit, 2003)

Shayna Toyan-Joy Bradford was a member of the high school computer competition (HSCC) team trained by BDPA Detroit chapter in 2003. She and her HSCC teammates traveled to Philadelphia in August 2003 to compete in the national HSCC championships. The team did well ... they finished in fifth place.

Shayna recently shared her HSCC testimonial with us:

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During my tenth grade year of High School, my computer teacher handed out flyers about the BDPA HSCC Detroit chapter. At that time, I had a very deep interest in Computer Science & Engineering. I knew that if I were allowed to participate in the HSCC, it would help prepare me for my future studies and career goals. Thankfully, I was allowed the opportunity to train and work with the BDPA HSCC Detroit Chapter. The trainers/mentors were extremely knowledgeable and had first hand experience in a variety of Information Technology fields. I had no idea that I would be exposed to such talented, genuine, and motivating people. After training with the BDPA HSCC Detroit chapter, I felt confident that I possessed truly valuable skills that I could use beyond competing in the National BDPA HSCC.

Competing at the BDPA National HSCC competition was an extremely memorable and valuable experience. The competition allowed the HSCC teams to understand the distinct line between theory and practice in the Computer Science industry. Also, the competition gave us a thorough and raw introduction to the competitive IT industry. I feel, most importantly, the competition taught us how critical it is to perfect your skill set and have a dynamic mindset, because, ultimately your team is depending on you.

Overall, my experience with BDPA led to my continued interest in technology. I decided to concentrate in Neuroscience during my undergraduate studies. However, during college, I worked in the IT department and in my final year of studies, I started working with Apple. I plan to pursue a career in Neuroscience research but, I am looking forward to using the technological skills BDPA helped hone to advance my understanding of Brain disease and function.

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Shayna is now a mother and a business owner. She owns Textures by Nefertiti, a natural hair care salon and spa in Detroit.

HSCC Testimonial: Keon Hercules (2003)

Keon Hercules is a 2003 HSCC Alumni from our BDPA New York chapter. We were able to get him away from his Amazon reviews to share his thoughts on the experience that he had with BDPA's youth education programs.

I was honored to take part in this celebration. Senior BDPA members seem to hold the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) students in high honor and view us as the best of the best. Our job was to live up to their high expectations; I think we were successful in doing so back in 2003.

I am blessed to be a member of a great team. They were wonderful teammates, and more important, good friends. I was the Captain of the Team. We worked extremely well together, and were able to cogitate in unison when challenging times approached us during the competition. The actual competition challenge was quite demanding and arduous, but as a team we pulled together and tried our best to complete the task as stated. Some of the important values that BDPA taught me are teamwork and how to work well with other people. I can use values such as these the rest of my life.

Apart from the HSCC, the conference was one of the most fun and informative times I have experienced. I met many people in positions and professions I would like to pursue in the future. Some of the people included Network Administrators for enterprises, and entrepreneurs who started their own IT businesses. I talked with them to gather knowledge, which can help me achieve the same status in the future.

The 25th annual National BDPA Conference is definitely a time to remember for the rest of my life. I hope to attend future Conferences and to have the same mental awakening that this conference has provided me. I established new friendships that I will never forget. So, I thank BDPA for providing me with this experience.

Somebody go let Keon know that we need his electronic photo!