HSCC Testimonial: Frederick Watson, Jr. (BDPA Chattanooga, 2007-2009)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) has awarded more than $377,000 in college scholarships over the past 13 years. We are very proud of the hundreds of young people we helped get into college. These are the young people that BDPA sends out to win the future. Of course we can't do it without the assistance of our donors.

We heard from one of our Bemley Scholars this week. He wants to use his Bemley Scholarship to support his education at Middle Tennessee State University. Take a moment to read his testimonial:

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My name is Frederick Antonio Watson, Jr. I am a Business Management student at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. For three years, I participated in BDPA Chattanooga Chapter’s High School Computer Competition Program. In preparation for the National BDPA competition our team attended weekly computer training sessions, which also included problem solving, team building and project and time management. Our team represented Chattanooga and was one of the winning teams in the 2007 national HSCC championship.

The HSCC experience and exposure to this program has been very beneficial. As a team, we received mentoring from our instructors and established a bonding friendship; all of us from the 2008 team currently attend MTSU. I am grateful I was afforded the opportunity to participate in it; I gained computer skills that I used on my job as a high school CAD Operator to complete assignments and projects and I actually continue to use those acquired skills today.

Each year, I looked forward to attending the National BDPA Conference. I enjoyed the competitiveness of the competition, listening to the enlightening speakers, meeting so many different and unique people from all over the country, and observing the professionalism exemplified by the organization as a whole. I’m also very thankful for the doors BDPA opened for me and other youths and commends the organization on its outstanding student programs.

Thank You BDPA Chattanooga Chapter!

BDPA Legacy: Wesley Williams (BDPA Atlanta)

BDPA created the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) over 25 years ago. There have been thousands of students taking part in regional and national championships since that time. There have been hundreds of HSCC coordinators and volunteer instructors. However, there may be only one person who has participated in the HSCC for as long or as well as its founder, Dr. Jesse Bemley.  That person is Wesley Williams.

Wesley Williams has been a proud member of the BDPA organization since 2001. His membership originated with the Memphis chapter, as a student in the HSCC program. He worked his way up through the rank to become a member of the Memphis HSCC team. In fact, Wesley was part of the first-ever HSCC championship won by BDPA Memphis chapter.

Wesley stayed with the Memphis chapter up to 2004, making sure every year the Memphis HSCC team was ready to compete. And ready they were.  BDPA Memphis won the national HSCC championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004 ... becoming the FIRST chapter to ever win four national HSCC championships in a row.

But Wesley didn’t stop there...

While attending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, he was able to get in contact with our BDPA Chattanooga chapter and restart the once depleted HSCC program as Coordinator. The chapter was able to win 4th place and 5th place with the help of Cornell Gaulman -- another Memphis HSCC champ and younger brother to Wesley.

Wesley then moved to Atlanta, GA where he pursued his Master of Divinity at the Interdenominational Theological Center in the Atlanta University Center. While in Atlanta, he became the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) Director and HSCC coordinator, where he led the Atlanta chapter to winning 1st place and 2nd place at regional competitions and 5th place at the 2008 National HSCC Championship.

Wesley has not only continued programs like HSCC as Director, but has introduced new programs like Advanced Computer Education and the Women’s Council. He married Lanita Russell, who was the first member of the Women’s Council in Chattanooga, TN and now serves as Fundraising Coordinator for the BDPA Atlanta chapter.

Below are some of Wesley’s accomplishments since 2001. Clearly, Wesley should be an early entry into the BDPA Hall of Fame ... whenever we get around to creating it!

BDPA Awards Earned by Wesley Williams

• 2001, 1st place National HSCC: Team Member (Memphis)
• 2002-2004, 1st place National HSCC: Assistant Coach (Memphis)
• 2003, 2nd place First Ever IT Showcase: College Student (Memphis)
• 2006, 4th place National HSCC: Coordinator, Coach (Chattanooga)
• 2007, 5th place National HSCC: Coordinator, Coach (Chattanooga)
• 2008, 2nd place Midwest Regional HSCC: Director, Coordinator, Coach (Atlanta)
• 2008, 5th place National HSCC: Director, Coordinator, Coach (Atlanta)
• 2011, 1st place Southeast Regional HSCC: Director, Coordinator, Coach (Atlanta)

Wesley is currently works at Macy's in the Systems and Technology department as an applications support analyst.   He credits all his BDPA success to his parents, brothers, and wife; his chapter presidents; his BDPA mentor Joseph Taylor III (Memphis) and Teresa Williams (Atlanta); and all the volunteers that have worked long hours with him throughout his 10 years with the organization.

Wesley and his wife Lanita are devout BDPA members who currently await the arrival of the newest addition to their family, Kiyah Ayo Bronnay Williams.  Can anyone doubt that Kiyah is destined for greatness in BDPA as well?

Please take a moment to REPLY to this post with some BDPA-Love for a remarkable young man -- Wesley Williams!

Take Five: Betty Hutchins (Southern Minnesota)

One of the most effective leaders that I've met in over 20 years with BDPA is a soft-spoken woman who currently resides in Minnesota -- Betty Hutchins. One of the best decisions that I made as national BDPA president was to appoint Betty to serve as the national vice president responsible for member services. She created or implemented some powerful programs during her tenure ... such as the BDPA IT Institute.

In any case, I'm pleased that Betty agreed to participate in the Take Five Interview Series.

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1. How did you get involved in working with BDPA? I learned about BDPA my last year of graduate school and joined the Atlanta Chapter after attending the NBMBAA conference in New York and the BDPA conference in Philadelphia (I believe). The warmth of the members from BDPA was so much greater than the NBMBAA members. Although there was no comparison in the two conferences, at NBMBAA, I saw Maya Angelou and Jesse Jackson, who were plenary speakers. And, I met Michael Baisden and Dr. Kunjufu at the book workshops. It appeared BDPA needed my help more and I felt more of a connection to the BDPA vision. So, I joined the Atlanta Chapter and worked with them to start the Chattanooga Chapter, then moved to Rochester and worked to start the Southern MN Chapter.

2. What is the most rewarding aspect of working with BDPA? The most rewarding aspect of working with BDPA has to be the young lives that the organization has touched. The many scholarships that BDPA Chattanooga, BDPA Southern MN and National BDPA has presented to students over the years is so remarkable and impactful. Also unique to BDPA is the great training and skills shared with the students in giving them another lucrative career choice that they may not have already considered.
3. Tell us about a defining moment in your life? A defining moment in my life was my taking the programmers aptitude test at Blue Cross and passing it to be accepted into the Programmer Trainee Program, finishing the program in record time with some of the highest scores in the program and entering the world of Information Technology.
4. Who is your hero and why? My heroes are my parents, who are both deceased. They instilled in me such a great work ethic and desire to be the best at everything that I could never repay them for all that they did. Because of them, I have a Bachelors degree and an MBA and today, my salary far surpasses even their combined income. I hope that they would be proud of not just what I have personally accomplished but by all that I give back to others through organizations like BDPA and United Way. I hope that they would be proud of the community acknowledgements that I have received like the Spirit of Caring Award and the Mayor's Medal of Honor.
5. Any advice for people considering donation to BETF? BETF has supported the BDPA scholarships for many years and is doing an outstanding job of continually improving. I have donated $100 or more each year to BETF for several years now and in the past this amount has been upwards of $250 or more. I very much respect the contributions of the foundation and hope they will achieve the goal of an endowment to support 4-year scholarships to BDPA scholars in perpetuity. I know we must help in whatever way we can.

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If I were picking my all-time BDPA team -- Betty would be on it. What thoughts went through your mind as you read Betty's answers?

HSCC Testimonial: Derek Griffin (Chattanooga)

Derek Griffin
BDPA Chattanooga Chapter
HSCC Alumni 2005-2007
[EDITOR’S NOTE – Derek is a 3-time participant in the national BDPA high school computer competition (HSCC). He earned a Bemley Scholarship at the 2007 national competition. Ironically, his coach in 2007 was Wes Williams (2001 national HSCC champion)].

When I began training for the 2007 Chattanooga HSCC team, I knew what to expect. I had done this twice before, 2005 in Detroit and 2006 in Los Angeles, and I was excited to be going to Washington D.C. We had a new coach and we knew with a little work we could go all the way. What we did not know was that little work, turned out to be a lot of work.

We worked every Saturday morning. We determined that wasn’t enough, and it was not, and started to have practices what I believe was every night in the library. This was a lot after everything else I had to do, but I did not mind the work. However, the competition was fast approaching and I just knew it was almost over.

Our preparation for the journey to Washington D. C. was almost over. The night before we met at Coach Wes’ house, our coordinator, seeing we had to leave at 4:00am–Yes am. We worked all that night and I believe I got 10 minutes of sleep. We woke up at 4:00 am. We went to pick up our third teammate and the trip commenced. It was a hard 9-hour trip to D.C. I again could barely sleep, we got a ticket, and I finally fell asleep and heard some of the harshest words I have ever heard, “Derek you ready to study some.”

Upon arrival, we went out to socialize and “let everyone know we had arrived.” We get a little down time including watching the then newly released, 300. I started to doze, comfortable at last, and then the worst words I really ever heard, those that torment me to this very day, nearly two years later, “Derek let’s go over the code some more.”

I was ready to get this all over with, and we went in for the test, we got all but one of the oral questions, and we did very well on the written, and it became obvious all of our studying had paid dividends. However, the portion we had really trained for was the 8-hour beast, the room of doom, the only computer lab that causes nightmares, the web design competition. I was determined; I had not deprived myself of sleep for nothing. We were prepared and we performed magnificently. The only thing that surprised us was the ruthlessness of the other teams. Some teams resorted to lying to throw us off. We believed at first but it did not affect us, we gave a killer presentation and were relieved to see the end.

We went out on the town and prepared for the big night. After we were ready, we found our tables and we sat being the most confident team there. We knew we at least won second place. We would have been ok with third. When announced as fifth place winners, we were so sure she had made a mistake; we did not even get up. She had not made a mistake; we were the fifth place winners. Not first but winners nonetheless, so we walked up there, some of us hobbled, we received our award, and we proudly took our seats. I know without a doubt we did our best, and though we may have deserved more, how can I argue with five-hundred dollar scholarship?

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BETF needs your help in our efforts to increase the Bemley Scholarship Fund so that we might continue giving to our students. You know that times are tight ... however, we must answer the call to get our young people into college. Won't you make a small donation today in support of our Bemley Scholarship Fund?

You can use the COMMENTS option to below to make a pledge or you can go directly to our website and make a secured donation with your credit card. What say u?

Grant Award: Food Lion Charitable Foundation ($2,000)

BDPA Education & Technology Foundation (BETF) received $2,000 from the Food Lion Charitable Foundation. BETF will use the gift to support the youth education programming for K-12 students in Chattanooga, TN.

"We are very grateful to Food Lion for this generous gift," said Wayne Hicks, BETF executive director, "it will allow our BDPA Chattanooga chapter members to provide fun learning experiences for children through the use of interactive technology."

The mission of BDPA is to support local information technology (IT) professionals and increase the number of historically under-represented persons of color in Computer Science and Information Technology. Participating students in the BDPA Chattanooga chapter program will receive quality instruction in basic programming concepts using the Java programming language, web page design using HTML, database design and various topics in career development. These skills will prove valuable for the young people engaged in this year’s program.

Established in 2001, the Food Lion Charitable Foundation provides financial support for programs and organizations dedicated to improving the communities in which Food Lion operates. The Foundation places an emphasis on the support of primary and secondary education, feeding the hungry, and organizations that enhance the quality of life in Food Lion’s local communities.

Please let us know if you want to make a charitable donation to the BDPA Foundation in support of programs in your local area.