Bemley Scholar Cameron Reaves Begins STEM-Based Education at Harvard University

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to announce that Cameron Reaves will use the Bemley Scholarship awarded all the members of the BDPA Atlanta High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team with a $5,000 college scholarship at Harvard University. He earned three Bemley Scholarships based on his work at the High School Computer Competition at the 2014 ($500), 2015 ($2,000) and 2016 ($2,500) BDPA Technology Conferences.

We asked Cameron to share his thought about BDPA with us:

Cameron Reaves * Bemley Scholar

"My name is Cameron Reaves and I am a freshman at Harvard University studying Computer Science and Environmental Science. I am from Duluth, GA and participated in four years of BDPA, beginning right when I started high school. I hope to combine my two interests to impact the energy/environmental sector using computing problem solving skills and technology expertise. I am currently planning to attend graduate school after college to earn a PHD, but anything can happen!

My involvement with BDPA was pivotal in my growth as a student and also my decision to pursue STEM. I have always been a big reader, so I loved literature and history (and still do). Prior to BDPA, I had no experience coding or learning about computers, so I probably would have continued down the path I was more familiar with. However, my father brought me to an introductory meeting my freshman year, and after that I joined the Atlanta Chapter and didn't look back! I am thankful for my time spent in the program and the many individuals I met. In the future, I hope to remain apart of the organization, volunteering to share its wonderful benefits to kids who were just like me.:

BDPA is blessed to have such a young and talented student as a winner of the Bemley Scholarship. We look forward to supporting Cameron's career as he seeks to advance in the technology industry!

Yusuph Mkangara Uses Bemley Scholarship at Harvard University

Yusuph Mkangara

We last heard from Yusuph Mkangara when he returned home after his first experience in the 2010 national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship. Since then this remarkable young man returned with his BDPA Columbus teammates to take home the bronze medal at the 2011 national HSCC championship ... earning a Bemley Scholarship. He graduated from high school and is now in his second year at Harvard University.

We asked this young man to update our audience on his educational journey:

---

My name is Yusuph Mkangara. I am from Columbus, Ohio and my family and I are originally from Tanzania. I participated in HSCC in 2010 and 2011 as a freshman and sophomore. I had never really thought about information technology as a career path but the program certainly paid dividends as our representative team from Columbus went on to take third place in 2011.

I received my high school diploma in 2013 and I am now attending Harvard University. My joint/double major is African Studies and Sociology. While I do not have a set career path yet, I am interested in the field of education and hope to teach and conduct research in education after graduation. In the past year, I have been fortunate enough to conduct research with the guidance of a professor at Harvard and a full research team as a partnership with a local Boston Area high school.

Rest assured, my interest in information technology and computer science is still alive and well. While my trajectory is not typical of those in the STEM fields, I am hoping to later on integrate IT skills in my work in education. One of the things that most excite me about the classroom of “tomorrow” is that technology has the potential to play a transformative role in how we approach education. I think with both technological know-how and experience as a teacher and researcher, I will be in a great position to innovate the field of education by using skills that I first began learning during preparation for my first HSCC."

---

Yusuph is an example of the powerful stories being told by all of the young people who participate in the K-12 STEM programs implemented by BDPA at a local, regional or national level. Many individuals and corporations see that BDPA is preparing and enabling the next generation of technology, STEM and digital thought leaders.

You can help! Please take a moment and make a donation to our Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship Fund.

Bemley Scholar Daniel Rothchild Heads to Ivory Towers of Harvard University

Daniel Rothchild

BDPA Detroit chapter has a proud legacy of building leaders and outstanding information technology talent through its annual participation in the National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships.

One of the very special young people who went through the BDPA Detroit chapter Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program for three years is Daniel Rothchild. Daniel earned Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship funding of $4,000 for his high-performance in the HSCC championships during 2009, 2010 and 2011. He plans to use that funding to help defray the costs of attending Harvard University!

Daniel has lived for most of his life in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He trained with BDPA Detroit chapter for three years and was a key member of HSCC teams that placed in 2nd place (2009, 2011) and 4th place (2010) on a national level. He graduated from high school in 2013 and is considering a degree in a computer-related field when he attends Harvard University.

Daniel was a guest on the BDPA iRadio Show in the past.  We asked Daniel to once again share his thoughts about BDPA. Here is what he had to say:

---

"I participated in the HSCC program for three years, and my experience preparing for and competing at the national competition has had a tremendous impact on me. First and foremost, I learned the programming language Java intimately through my years of practical, hands-on experience. Though reading books on programming and taking computer science classes are helpful, nothing has prepared me better for programming in Java than the experiences I gained through BDPA.

I also learned to work as part of a team. Every member has his or her strengths, and I learned how to participate effectively as a member of a team by taking into account the strengths of other team members ... and dividing the work accordingly. I am sure this skill will be invaluable for me when I enter the workforce.

The skills I learned through my participation in BDPA have already been incredibly useful for me. This summer, I am working at a company where I need to write programs in Java ... which is the language that BDPA taught me during the HSCC training process. I am sure these skills will continue to be invaluable to me as I progress through college and beyond.

---

Daniel is the first BDPA student to use his Bemley Scholarship for attendance at Harvard University. I look forward to watching this young man as he progresses through his college and professional career. I hope that he is able to connect with our BDPA Boston chapter over the next four years that he is in Massachusetts!