High School Computer Competition (Chicago, 2014)

BDPA Chicago, founded March 1986, is the reigning BDPA Chapter of the Year. Our Chicago chapter has won that prestigious award four times (1992, 2000, 2005 and 2013). However, the proudest accomplishment of the chapter may be the two times - 1994 and 2006 - that they took home the gold medal for the national BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC). BDPA Chicago is one of only two chapters to outperform BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter over the past ten years in the national HSCC championship. The chapter's HSCC coordinator shared his insights on that 2006 championship effort with our blog a few years ago.

Hundreds of young men and women have been impacted by the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in Chicago. Some of these students shared their thoughts about BDPA in this video clip:



We are pleased to report on the progress of the students featured in this video:

• Courtney Elzy scheduled to graduate next year from Illinois State University.
• Joseph Huggins, Jr. graduated from the US Naval Academy. He now serves our nation as a midshipman for the US Navy.
• We are unsure about the current whereabouts of Kenneth McCune. Do you know where he matriculated for college and such?
• Carlton Means attended Hampton University. He is now working at Adventist Midwest Health.
• Lee Reed graduated with honors from the University of Michigan. He now works for BDPA sponsor Deloitte.

There are new students competing for the right to represent the chapter at the 2014 HSCC championship in Indianapolis. The national team for Chicago will be selected from among the students shown in the photo shown below.

Back Row: Malcolm Range, Tyrese Cook, Raymond Adams, DeVaughn Welch
Middle Row: Cassie Bey, Christian Cherry, Paige Davis
Front Row: Matthew Davis, Marcus

BDPA Chicago Chapter’s SITES program teaches students in 6th through 12th grade to create web applications with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, Ajax and PHP using components of the agile development methodology. Students that are ineligible to compete learn how to create android mobile applications. In addition to technical topics, the students are coached in effective study habits, presentation skills, professionalism and leadership. The top five students based on participation points, homework, and test scores will participate in the national competition.

These BDPA students are encouraged to pursue post-secondary education, be the best that they can be and encourage others to do the same. We need support from our blog's readers to raise funds to provide college scholarships for BDPA Chicago students. Won't you help us by making a secure online donation?

Related articles

• Overview: BDPA High School Computer Competition

2006 National BDPA HSCC Champions (Chicago)

My understanding is that this photo includes the young brothers from Chicago that won the 2006 National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship in Los Angeles, CA.  

L-R: Yvette Graham, TBD, Lee Reed, TBD, Joseph Huggins, Gibran McDuffie and TBD.

Can anyone help us name the other folks in this photo?

Route 66: The Road to the 2006 National BDPA HSCC Championship

Gibran McDuffie is the coordinator of the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program conducted each year by BDPA Chicago chapter. One of the components of the SITES program is the annual High School Computer Competition (HSCC).

There have been 26 HSCC championships held in the United States since the first one took place back in 1986. In recent years the HSCC championships have been dominated by the BDPA chapter in Rochester, MN.

2006 HSCC Champions (Chicago)

However, there is one team that has beaten BDPA Southern Minnesota over the past seven years. BDPA Chicago's HSCC team won the national championship in 2006.

Gibran takes the time to share the story of that 2006 National BDPA HSCC Championship team. The story is compelling ... and it offers some outstanding 'lessons learned' for the other 45 BDPA chapters to consider as they begin planning for the 2012 HSCC championships.

Take a moment to download or read online Gibran's reflections on that 2006 championship team:

Road to National BDPA HSCC Championship

View more documents from BDPA Foundation.

I would be very interested in your thoughts on Gibran's article. What say u?

AT&T United Way Employee Giving Campaign

BETF proudly receives pledged payments through the AT&T Employee Giving Campaign made by Gibran McDuffie. Our foundation is proud to be part of the annual giving program for AT&T. The donation made by Gibran will be used to support BDPA Chicago programs and services.

Our hope is that other BDPA members will consider making payroll deductions during annual giving campaigns put on by United Way, Combined Federal Campaign or the company itself. Others may simply want to make a one-time donation directly to BETF in support of the youth education programs taking place all over the country.

Please share some 'BDPA-Love' with Gibran in the COMMENTS section below!

AT&T United Way Employee Giving Campaign

BETF proudly received pledged payments through the AT&T Employee Giving Campaign made by Gibran McDuffie. Our foundation is proud to be part of the annual giving program for AT&T. The donation made by Gibran will be used to support BDPA Chicago programs and services.

Our hope is that other BDPA members will consider making payroll deductions during annual giving campaigns put on by United Way, Combined Federal Campaign or the company itself. Others may simply want to make a one-time donation directly to BETF in support of the youth education programs taking place all over the country.

Please share some 'BDPA-Love' with Gibran in the COMMENTS section below!

2006 National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Rankings

The National BDPA HSCC championships were held in Los Angeles CA in 2006. The west coast venue proved to be too costly for some teams to attend. As a result, the level of participation dipped down to 19 teams. Nevertheless, the battle for supremacy amongst the high school students was intense.

The HSCC team trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota tried valiantly to defend the national championship won the year before. However, this was the year for the HSCC team trained by BDPA Chicago chapter to finally break through for the gold medal. It was a remarkable effort by four truly remarkable young people (Joseph Huggins, Lee Reed, Andreaus Robinson and Maurice Shelton), their coach (Gibran Adejele) and chapter president (Yvette Graham).

Here are the rankings for all 19 teams that competed in 2006 national HSCC championships with the scholarship winnings for each student in parenthesis:

1. Chicago ($2500 Bemley Scholarship)
   
2. Southern Minnesota ($1500 Bemley Scholarship)
   
3. Washington DC ($500 Bemley Scholarship)
   
4. Chattanooga
   
5. Central Illinois
   
6. Richmond
   
7. Austin
   
8. Hartford
   
9. Cincinnati
   
10. Los Angeles
    
11. Charlotte
    
12. Philadelphia
    
13. Detroit
    
14. Twin Cities
    
15. Dayton
    
16. Dallas
    
17. St. Louis
    
18. Atlanta
    
19. Rhode Island

This was the only year since 2002 where we didn't have HSCC teams trained by Cleveland or New Jersey chapters in the competition.

Our foundation seeks to increase the number of students that receive Bemley Scholarships in 2009 and beyond. To do so, we need your help. Please consider making an online donation to help us interest young people in science and technology.

Anyhow, were any of you at the 2006 National BDPA Technology Conference held in Los Angeles, CA? Do you remember the HSCC championships? Do you remember any of the workshops or speakers from that year's conference?

Election Results: BDPA Chicago (2010-2011)

BETF-Blog Readers, please join me in congratulating the 2010-2011 officers of the BDPA Chicago chapter.

2010-2011 BDPA Chicago Chapter Officers

• President - Pamela Sexton (HSBC)
• Executive VP - Namon Tarpley (HSBC)
• Administrative VP - Gibran McDuffie (AT&T)
• Treasurer - Robert Modiest (self-employed)
• Corresponding Secretary - Millie Liggins (Walgreens)
• Recording Secretary - Desmond Jones (Agile Mind)
• Immediate Past President - Rhonda Boyd (Allstate Insurance)

These brothers and sisters have the challenge of maintaining the remarkable legacy of a chapter, founded in March 1987, that currently sits as the largest chapter in America.

Share some love in the comments section for Pamela (shown in photo) and her incoming leadership team.