HSCC Testimonial * Logan LeCompte (Twin Cities, 2009)

One of the most remarkable demonstrations of commitment to BDPA occurred last year. The high school computer competition (HSCC) team trained by BDPA Twin Cities chapter wasn't able to afford plane tickets to attend the 2009 national championships being held in Raleigh NC. They didn't let the lack of funding stop them. Instead they simply piled the team, chaperones and coordinator into a van ... and drove for over 20 hours to get to North Carolina. This remarkable BDPA team ended up earning Jesse Bemley Scholarships with their 4th-place finish in the 2009 national HSCC championships.

Here is the testimonial from a member of that team:

---

When I started BDPA I wasn't sure if programming was a skill that I could possess. I didn't think that I could memorize a whole new language and be able to recall and implement what I learned to make a fully functional website. I remember one of the first days of class our teacher Mark Holden walked us though creating a very basic html website; and after completing the website I started to think that I could easily learn how to program and make fully functional websites. In my first year while in 10th grade at BDPA I made the HSCC team but was an alternate on the competing team. I took 11th grade off because I had a job that required me to work on Saturdays. In 12th grade I came back to BDPA to make the HSCC team again and make the competing team where the Twin Cities chapter earned a 4th place at the BDPA competition in North Carolina.

BDPA taught me a lot of skills that I use today in life. BDPA taught me how to program in three different languages (C#, VB, and HTML) which I have implemented in my programming classes in college. Even though BDPA is a programming based program they made sure that the students learned public speaking skills and how to act in formal situations. I am now more comfortable talking in front of an audience than I was before BDPA.

BDPA has defiantly impacted my career decisions. In BDPA I learned how I could get into peoples computers and shut them down, or open files. After learning how to do this I discovered that I wanted to have a career where I could get paid to hack or protect people from hackers.

I'm attending Dakota State University with a double major in Network Security and Network System Administration and a minor in Networking.

---

I encourage anyone reading Logan's testimonial to take a moment and share some love with this young brother!

Observations from an HSCC Parent (Twin Cities)

Logan LeCompte is a member of the BDPA Twin Cities chapter High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team that competed earlier this year. His father, John, attended the chapter's annual education banquet earlier this month. He shares the following observations on his blog:

On Wednesday eve, 10/17 I attended the BDPA Twin Cities Fall Banquet. My son was being recognized for his participation in their High School Computer Competition this summer. Some interesting information was shared. The number of students going to college and majoring in computer science is actually decreasing, especially among young women. While the demand for persons with computer science and IT skills is increasing.

After the conference we went to Winona State University and University of Wisconsin LaCrosse for college tours for my son and we were there specially checking out their computer science programs.

Both colleges are totally wired, but at Winona there is a fee included in your cost and you get a lap top as a freshman, and then it is replaced with a new one in your junior year, and for a minimal 50 bucks you get to keep it when you graduate. Every student is expected to use the lap top through out their time in school there. My son is really interested in computer security and information security.

We discovered that the government has identified schools that they now call centers for academic excellence in information assurance and security. Seems like a post 9/11 thing.

BDPA has been great for my son. If you know of any young African American men or women interested in computers and web page development, let me know and I will get them in contact with the BDPA program.

BETF-Blog readers, what say u?