Amber Young Uses Fiat Chrysler Automotive Scholarship at University of Maryland

Amber Young * Michigan State University

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to announce that Fiat Chrysler Automobile awarded a $2,500 college scholarship to four (4) students. One of those students is Amber Young of University of Maryland.

Amber recently joined our BDPA Detroit chapter. When asked to share her thoughts on being a FCA scholar, Amber wrote,

"My name is Amber Young and I am a senior at Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. I am interested in a career in neuroscience. During the summer of 2015 I worked as a BDPA intern at Trinity Health Corporation in Livonia, Michigan. I worked in the IT Project Management Office supporting an electronic medical record project for St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. This internship provided me with an opportunity to learn about project management in an information technology implementation/ I also was able to meet senior management across the enterprise and physician staff at Saint Mary’s Hospital.

While attending the BDPA national conference in Washington, DC I learned about computer technology, coding and media development. I learned about future career possibilities in computer science and its growing importance in the era of technology. My favorite part of this experience was 3D printing. I learned the applications of 3D printing in engineering and biomedicine. I used TinkerCAD software to develop my own 3Ddesign of a biosensor. Biosensors are devices that detect a biological analyte by converting specific entities such as DNA and proteins into an electrical signal that can be measured in biomarkers as evidence of disease. Biosensing technology provides efficient, accurate detection of diseases and determines drug effectiveness. My experience at the conference has helped me better understand ways that technology can be used in life science."

BDPA is blessed to have such a young and talented technology student on board as both a member and as winner of the FCA Scholarship. We look forward to supporting Amber's career as she seeks to advance in the technology industry!

Bemley Scholar Alex Li Seeks Engineering Degree from University of Maryland

Alex Li

Alex Li has been part of the BDPA computer camps hosted each Saturday by our BDPA Washington DC chapter for the past five years. He earned a place on the chapter's national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team in 2012-2014.  The excellent performance by his HSCC team in 2013 (4th place) and 2014 (1st place) earned this young squire $2,500 in college scholarships from the Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship Fund.

Alex graduated from Poolesville High School in June 2014. He now attends the University of Maryland College Park where he plans to double-major in Electrical Engineering and either Finance or Business Management. He has been focused entirely on his education so he doesn't have any employment experience at this point. Our hope is that one of our BDPA corporate sponsors will scoop Alex up for a summer internship next year. Alex tells us that his ultimate career goal is to start and manage his own company!

We asked Alex to share some memories of his BDPA experience with our blog readers:

"When I first joined BDPA Washington DC in the 8th grade, I did not know what to expect. I was unfamiliar with the group and the subject matter for the weekend computer camp. I had very little understanding of what programming was and what it was used for. Over the course of the past five years in the BDPA program I have been enlightened to a whole new world of computer programming and information systems.

BDPA steered me towards the undergraduate degree I will soon be obtaining. I never considered majoring in something like computer science or electrical engineering. Participating and competing in BDPA has opened countless new opportunities for me. The experience I gained these five years convinced me to pursue a career in the STEM field.

2014 National HSCC Champions! Alex is 2nd from right.

My most memorable moment in BDPA came earlier this month when my teammates and I were called up to the stage to be recognized for winning the gold medal in 2014 National BDPA HSCC Championship. I was very grateful when my team won first place after working for five years towards that goal."

Alex is a remarkable young man. He is the reason that the BDPA volunteers in Washington DC and around the nation work so hard to advance the careers of people in our community 'from the classroom to the boardroom'. You can help. Please take a moment and make a secure online donation in support of BDPA programs, scholarships and services. Do it today. Let's work to give out twice as many college scholarships next year!

Bemley Scholar Mira Cruz Seeks Computer Science Degree from University of Maryland

Mira Cruz earned two silver medals and a bronze medal as a member of the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) teams trained by BDPA Washington DC in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 HSCC championships. She will use the Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarships that she earned as a result of those high HSCC championships to study for a computer science degree at the University of Maryland University College.

We asked Mira to share her thoughts on the HSCC experiences:

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All throughout my life, I've had an interest in technology. I started out playing video games, and it sparked an interest in me for wanting to create video games. That eventually led me to the fascinating world of programming.

As my interest in programming grew, I started to become more curious about computers in general. When I became enrolled at North County High School, I took immediate action and signed up for a computer class. Although there were no classes on coding, I was determined to learn it anyway.

For a short time - due to the hassles of high school - my technology drive was dulled. The revival came after I switched over to Penn Foster High School. Shortly afterward, my mother found out about BDPA, which led me to entering into a Flash Animation Course. In the course, we were being taught ActionScript and flash game development. It was through this course that I was introduced to Mr. Louis Shack, an instructor for the BDPA computer camp in Washington, DC. Mr. Shack brought me into the world of the high school computer competition. I am so grateful to him for introducing me to this program. BDPA has been a great and positive impact on my life.

When I first entered into the HSCC, I didn't know what to expect. Previously, I'd had to learn programming myself - by online tutorials and long manuals. I was thrilled to have teachers always available to help me. I settled in with my classmates very quickly. All of them were just like me - they had a passion for programming, and they weren't afraid to show it. I was amazed at the great level of maturity.

As the months of our training passed, I discovered an entirely new world of coding. We were taught Javascript, JSTL, SQL, and how to use Apache Tomcat; and how to incorporate all of them together into a website. I won't lie - we had to study hard. But at the same time, it was fun doing something I really enjoyed. I knew that I was doing what I could to help my team, and whenever I needed help or didn't understand something, my teachers and classmates were there to help me.

All of our efforts were rewarded when our team earned the silver medal for our second place finish at the National HSCC championship in 2008. I'll never forget how I felt when I went up on stage with my teammates to claim our trophy. Second place in the nation! All of our hard work was worth it! But even if we hadn't won anything, it still would have been worth it. The things I'd learned and the friendships I'd made were what made the experience so wonderful.

2008 HSCC Team (Washington DC)

I came back and competed again in 2009 (3rd place) and 2010 (second place) as a member of the BDPA Washington DC teams competing in the national HSCC championships. When I look back on how much I've learned, it's astonishing. BDPA has helped me with so much, not only in my knowledge of coding, but also in life-long lessons. Before joining BDPA and participating in the HSCC program, I could hardly communicate with anyone. I had been so afraid of people and the thought of a quick conversation could literally make me want to crawl into a hole. Over time, because of my work in the HSCC program, I became so confident and social that anyone who sees me today would wonder where the old Mira went. I don't know if it ever would have happened if not for the great teamwork and attitudes of my classmates and teachers.

The HSCC was a great thing for me, and I know it will be great for anyone else who aspires to program. It had an amazing impact on my life.

I am currently admitted into University of Maryland University College for a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science. My goal is to become a software programmer. I am very much looking forward to it!

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Mira is a real-like example of the 'classroom to the boardroom' motto of BDPA. We want to give our larger college scholarships to students like Mira in the future ... and you can help by making a secure online donation to our Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship Fund!

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• Bemley Scholar Zakaria Ahmed Seeks Medical Training at University of Minnesota

BDPA Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Freeman Hrabowski (UMBC President)

Dr. Freeman Hrabowski (president, University of Maryland, Baltimore County) received a BDPA Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2013 BDPA Technology Conference. He shared his thoughts on this award via this video clip.



Dr. Hrabowski is a leading advocate for getting diversity in higher education and is committed to helping students of all backgrounds pursue their dreams of becoming scientists and engineers. President Barack Obama recently named him chair of the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans.

Hassan Moustafa Uses Bemley Scholarship for Bio-Engineering Degree at University of Maryland

Hassan Moustafa was a member of the silver-medal winning high school computer competition (HSCC) team trained by BDPA Washington DC at the 2008 National BDPA Conference held in Atlanta GA.

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) awarded a Bemley Scholarship to Hassan and his teammates for their outstanding performance in the national HSCC championships. We thought you would be interested in hearing directly from Hassan on his experience:

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Hello my name is Hassan Moustafa. I graduated from high school in 2008 from Charles Herbert Flowers High School. I am currently attending the University of Maryland College Park, studying bioengineering. During the fall semester of 2008, I attend Prince George’s Community College as I waited to be admitted into the University of Maryland College Park for the spring semester of 2009. Even though I am currently majoring in bioengineering, I have learned a lot through the BDPA and HSCC programs about the information technology industry. I plan on integrating all I have learned about programming and expanding my knowledge base in order to explore a useful application for it within my discipline as I am gaining laboratory experience.

Furthermore, I have only participated in the HSCC program for only one year, as I was a high school senior year at the time. I regret finding about the HSCC program during my senior year, because that made it the first and final year I could be a part of the program. I learned so much from my mentors about programming in general, but I learned more so about teamwork and effort working with my teammates as well. My most memorable HSCC moments would have to be those days before the competition, where the whole team would prepare diligently for all three parts of the competition. We worked on different strategies and experimented with all of them for hours each day. I truly miss those indelible moments. In summation, the HSCC has impacted me in becoming more open to learning something so new and at times abstract by introducing me to different programming languages that I had no prior exposure to. It was very interesting to see its application in our real-world applications and I plan on continuing to learn more programming even as a bioengineer.

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We need your help. BETF provided over $233,000 in scholarships since 1996 ... however, our ability to continue providing these Bemley Scholarships next year is jeapordized without donor support. Please consider making a secure online donation now so that we can help more HSCC students attend college!

Computer Science Training for Middle and High School Students

The Dept of Computer Science at the University of Maryland is sponsoring their annual Passport Program this Summer for middle and high school students interested in computer science or computer programming. This program is offered at no cost to the student. The online application needs to be completed by the May 30, 2008 deadline.

Share this information with any student, parent or teacher that you think might be interested.

Digital Humanities and African American/African Diaspora Studies Conference

Drumbeats from Matthew Kirschenbaum tell us that an exciting conference on Digital Humanities and African American/African Diaspora Studies is scheduled for May 1-3, 2008 at the University of Maryland.

Right now you have the opportunity to be a participant yourself. The Conference seeks posters or demonstrations that highlight digital humanities projects, tools or techniques or work in progress as they relate to the themes of the conference. They especially encourage submissions from independent scholars and scholars associated with academic institutions. Posters may include a demonstration, traditional printed poster, or a combination of both. Wireless internet access will be available at the poster venue.


Short abstracts (250-500 words) should be submitted to Neil Fraistat by February 25, 2008. The proposals will be reviewed by the planning committee and successful applicants will be notified by March 10, 2008. The poster session will take place on the afternoon of May 3, 2008.

This conference will address the increasing centrality of digitization to the archiving of materials, as well as the growth of digital technology in the teaching, scholarship and artistic production in the field of African American/African Diaspora Studies. The conference is a collaboration involving the African American/African Diaspora Area Group of the English Department, the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH), and the School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation, as well as other faculty and students from the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU) and the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS).

The conference, the first of its kind, will bring together approximately 150 national and international scholars, high school and middle school teachers, artists, students and attendees to discuss a growing body of work that has not as yet benefited from an organized forum that would allow practitioners to meet one another not only to discuss on-going projects, but also to debate the theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical issues raised by the intersection of the fields of Digital Humanities and African American/African Diaspora Studies. As the field of African American/African Diaspora Studies can benefit from a thoughtful consideration of the application of new media tools, so, too, can the field of digital humanities benefit from a focused discussion of scholarship informed by critical race studies.

The program will begin on May 1st and 2nd with hands-on workshops, including one sponsored by the TEI Consortium and funded by the NEH, which will provide a practical introduction to text encoding and another that will focus on navigating online resources in African American and African Diaspora Studies.

The workshops will be followed by a panel showcasing work by scholars in the field of African American/African Diaspora Studies that address or make use of digital technologies and new media. The chair and the respondents will be University of Maryland graduate students.

The keynote address by Abdul Alkalimat (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) will be followed by a reception and the presentation of a multi-media art installation. The last day will be taken up by panels and seminars, one of which will be geared toward middle and high school teachers; digital "poster" sessions, using laptops, to introduce projects by students, faculty and independent scholars; and a closing multi-media performance.

Confirmed participants include Howard Dodson, Anna Everett, Jerome Handler, Paul D. Miller (AKA DJ Spooky), Alexander Weheliye, and Pamela Z.

Reach out to Matthew on (301) 405-8505 if you have questions or wish to discuss further.