Tristan Trejo Will Use Bemley Scholarship at University of Minnesota

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to announce that Tristan Trejo will use the Bemley Scholarship awarded all the members of the BDPA Southern Minnesota High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team with a $3,000 college scholarship at the University of Minnesota.

Tristan Trejo * Bemley Scholar

Tristan is a young man who plans to become a well-known architect, who can find ways to incorporate Computer Science to experience the design process in each stage of Architecture, to benefit both the Architects and the client. He had a wonderful high school experience at Century High School serving at a referee in the Minnesota Soccer League, rink Attendant for the city at the Recreation Center. Tristan was also on the varsity track and field team (state medalist for pole vault) and varsity soccer team.

Tristan has been a member of BDPA Southern Minnesota for six years and a part of the chapter's youth computer team for the past 3 years. We asked him to share his thoughts on BDPA:

The most memorable moment of BDPA, was when our team was named the National winner at the High School Computer Competition (BDPA Disrupt 2017) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Our team members were all first-time competitors, but we surprised ourselves and won! The competition was tough, and requirements for the competition were very challenging and complicated. All of the other teams were very good teams. Our team members looked at each other, paused, pondered, and simultaneously, put our heads together, and strived for the best.

2017 BDPA SMN HSCC Team (Tristan is 2nd-left)

We really astonished ourselves! BDPA has had a great impact on my life. I have learned many lessons over the course of 6 years as a member, and not just lessons on coding, but I have learned to be a leader, a good public speaker, and learned how to understand my peers better, and much more. I have been able to help promote this program to the community, and I’m proud of it. The amount of knowledge I have obtained through out my BDPA career is immense, and I am very grateful that I was part of such a giving organization. I am very thankful to the people who made this opportunity available.

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

Bemley Scholar Isaac Gullickson Continues STEM-Based Education at University of Minnesota

Isaac Gullickson * University of Minnesota

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) proudly announces that a Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship has been awarded to Isaac Gullickson. Isaac earned the Bemley Scholarship as a result of participating in 2013 (1st place); 2014 (3rd place) and 2015 (fourth place) won by the team trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter at the National High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship.

Isaac is now a freshman at the University of Minnesota majoring in Computer Science. He is passionate about programming and web development thanks to the experiences he received in BDPA. He seeks to be a computer programmer or a full stack web developer. Isaac has a host of experiences with web development that he learned in high school. He was on a mentorship with Mayo Clinic and IBM. He also participated on his first robotics team.

We asked Isaac to share his insights about BDPA, and he wrote,

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"I had a friend in 9th grade who I thought was the bee’s knees when it came to anything technical. I’d ask some vague question about recent inventions or coding and he’d answer, narrating the tale of how programming languages were developed or describing the latest tech from Google, for instance. He’d do so with a passion that was contagious. It was from him that I heard of BDPA and the weekend class that taught some of this wondrous programming that he had told me about. I took the leap and signed my Saturday mornings away. I could not have imagined the impact that my experiences in BDPA would have. BDPA defined my future goals and gave me the skills to achieve them.

Even before I had any goals, I always liked computers. Though this was mostly because of the games I played on them as a kid, the science behind how they worked intrigued me. My only goals at the time for this interest were to wait until college, where I knew I could take courses on coding. This remained my mindset and I never took advantage of the wealth of information the internet could have provided, as I didn’t have the drive to take advantage of it. BDPA changed that very quickly. Creating website applications - tangible products of my work - was immensely rewarding. I worked on projects in class on weekends, at home, in school, whenever I could. BDPA transformed my dormant interest into an active passion. My goals became to teach myself more about web development, to take it further in college, and then a career in programming. However, skills are essential to achieving any goal.

BDPA taught me many skills, including the technical skills of web development programming, to using IDEs, CPanel, and database manipulation. Equally if not more important however, are the soft skills that are transferable to any career. These include public speaking, people skills, networking. Developing these made for some of the most memorable experiences. The experiences of preparing many summers with a team of fellow BDPA students for the competition, developing our communication, programming, and teamwork skills, but more importantly, bonding and becoming friends. Some of my favorite memories are sweating over the programming problems each year at the competition, slowly figuring them out, and implementing the solution with my friends.

2013 HSCC Champions from Southern Minnesota

In 9th grade, I never thought I could have programmed in part a complete web application that created routes for a lawn care company, or a bus routing service, or any of the professional grade problems that we worked on at the national competition. I never would have believed that I would have the focus and passion to be a part of technology and programming so soon, or to realize my childhood interest. Now in college, I find myself trying to keep building on the impact BDPA has had on me, to continue developing the skills and chase the goals I found in that Saturday morning web development class with my friends."

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BETF is proud to support young people like Isaac! However, we need your support. Please take a moment to make a secure online donation in support of the Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship Fund so we can help more young squires like Isaac!

Bemley Scholar Zakaria Ahmed Seeks Medical Training at University of Minnesota

Zakaria Ahmed was a member of the 2011 National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship team trained by our Southern Minnesota chapter. He earned a Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship as a result of his efforts on that team. Zakaria Ahmed used that Bemley Scholarship to support his education at the University of Minnesota, Rochester. His major is Health Professions specializing in the respiratory care field. He seeks to become a respiratory therapist on his way to medical school.

We asked Zakaria to share his thoughts on his BDPA experiences:

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"I first joined BDPA in 2007 while in the eighth grade. My parents took me to a computer camp full of people on Saturday morning hosted by BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter. I had no idea what was going on and I even wanted to go home at first, but, then I noticed that some of my friends were in the class and decided to give BDPA a chance. From that moment on I was addicted to learning more about building web pages.

During that same year, I was fortunate to be able to go to the national conference which was held in Washington DC. Although I didn’t participate in the competition, I was able to participate in the Youth Technology Camp workshops during the conference. I had fun learning more about programming along with meeting other people from different parts of the United States.

The following year I was determined to be on the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team. I did become an alternate to the chapter’s 2008 HSCC team, so I was able to practice with the team which was valuable in my learning. BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter won the 2008 HSCC championships and I was determined to be a regular member of the team in the future.

I didn’t make the HSCC team over the next two years, but, I did see improvements in myself during that time. I was more confident in myself and I was better able to speak in front of an audience, something that wouldn’t have happened without BDPA.

During my senior year in high school, I did make the BDPA Southern Minnesota HSCC team! That year I was assigned to be the web page designer. With the help of my teammates and past HSCC alumni I was able to excel in this role.

Our HSCC team won the 2011 National HSCC championship held in Chicago. It was a record-breaking fifth straight championship for our chapter.

Even though I am in the medical field, I credit BDPA with developing many new skills within myself such as communication, leadership and teamwork. Most importantly, BDPA gave me the confidence to go after what I want in life. I will use all of the skills I learned during my BDPA training to help me be successful in life. If it wasn’t for BDPA I wouldn’t be where I am today. I am so grateful to have been part of this organization and I will never forget the memories I have made in BDPA."

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Zakaria is one of the many young people impacted by BDPA programs, scholarships and services offered in 46 local chapters around the country. We need your financial support to keep BDPA thriving in these local communities. Won't you consider making a secure online donation today in honor of Zakaria and the other 'future faces of technology' who benefit from BDPA?

Related articles

• Rochester Post-Bulletin, 10/1/2013 (BDPA Southern Minnesota)
• KTTC Rochester, 9/9/2013 (Herchran Singh, BDPA Southern Minnesota)

BDPA Member on the Move: Adwait Walimbe (Wal-Mart)

BDPA prides itself on providing programs, scholarships and services that help young people move from 'classroom to the boardroom' in the IT industry. BDPA Southern Minnesota member Adwait Walimbe is the latest example of this tagline being turned into reality.

Adwait joined BDPA while still in junior high school. He participated in the local chapter's Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. In fact, Adwait is the only student in over 30 years of BDPA history to be part of the winning team in National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship for FIVE YEARS.

Adwait used his college scholarship winnings to attend the University of Minnesota. During his college career he participated in the BDPA IT Showcase held in Baltimore last year.   This was when Adwait sat amongst a large crowd of IT professionals to listen to the career insights delivered at an executive symposium by the keynote speaker Ben Hasan, an IT executive with Wal-Mart.

"That's where I met Ben. I followed up with him later at the conference, and over the next few months he convinced me to join Wal-Mart," said Adwait.

Adwait (top-left) listens intently to Ben Hasan's presentation

Adwait accepted his first full-time job in the IT industry with Wal-Mart last month. He is now a Strategy Manager for the largest retailer in the world.

Ben Hasan is happy with the fact that Adwait is beginning his career with Wal-Mart.

"We are really excited to have Adwait on the team!!!", said Mr. Hasan.

Adwait Walimbe is the 'future face of technology'. Wal-Mart knows it. BDPA is proud of Adwait and we look forward to following his career over the coming years!   I encourage all BDPA members reading this post to share some love with our amazing Mr. Walimbe!

Bemley Scholar Ahmed Mahamad Graduates with Health Sciences Degree from University of Minnesota

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to recognize Bemley Scholar Ahmed Mahamad for his successful graduation from the University of Minnesota (Rochester) with a bachelor of sciences degree in Health Sciences.

Ahmed has a powerful BDPA legacy. He is one of the rare students in history to win three (3) national BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships. He won those three championships in 2007, 2008 and 2009 as a member of the HSCC teams trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter. As a result of his excellence Ahmed earned multiple college scholarships including the Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship awarded by BETF to support his educational efforts at the University of Minnesota.

Ahmed joined with two other HSCC alums (James Arama and Adwait Walimbe) in 2010 to create the StartLounge. StartLounge was a visual, social interface that engaged users with Facebook integration to let them preview Facebook news feeds and photos.

As a college student Ahmed continued to support his BDPA family. He was a student instructor for BDPA Southern Minnesota for a number of years and he was a participant in the 2010 BDPA IT Showcase held in Philadelphia PA. His research topic during that year's IT Showcase was entitled, 'Robotics Bioinformatics and Medicine' [paper / poster].

Ahmed is the 'future face of technology'. His graduation this weekend from the University of Minnesota is simply another step in his personal quest to rise from 'the classroom to the boardroom'. Whenever BETF donors or volunteers begin to waiver in our commitment to support of BDPA programs, scholarships and services we merely need to remember the example of Ahmed Mahamad. Today, I ask all of you to join BETF in tipping our caps to this talented young man ... and if your heart tells you ... please help us provide more college scholarships in the future for other young 'uns like Ahmed!

Congratulations Ahmed ... University of Minnesota graduate, Class of 2013!

Bemley Scholar Adwait Walimbe Seeks Computer Science Degree from University of Minnesota

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to award a Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship in the amount of $11,500 to BDPA Southern Minnesota student member Adwait Walimbe.  This is the largest single college scholarship ever awarded in the history of our foundation.  Adwait is using this scholarship to pursue a Computer Science degree from the University of Minnesota.

There have been thousands of high school students competing in our national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships over the past quarter-century. Only two of those students (Yaa Kwansa and Brittany Middleton) have ever been national HSCC champions in four consecutive years. Adwait is the first student in BDPA history to be a FIVE-TIME national HSCC champion!

Adwait is a remarkable young man and a role model for BDPA students all across the nation. He created his own IT consulting firm six years ago and through that firm he became the founder of his own start-up, Socialdecks - an online, flashcard-based education system.

We asked Adwait to share his thoughts about BDPA in the following testimonial:

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My name is Adwait Walimbe, and I am currently attending the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. I joined the BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter Youth Computer Training Program (YCTP) as a 7th grader in 2006. Over the next five years I was a member of the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter. Our team won the national HSCC championship in all five of those years (2007-2011).

I met some very influential mentors, volunteers and peers over the course of my participation in the program. YCTP is conducted from December through May in Rochester MN, with HSCC practice in June and July. The national HSCC championships take place in August.

I was an eager and motivated student during my first year in the program. I enjoyed working hard to absorb as much new knowledge as possible. My strategy was to always self-study in order to stay a week ahead. Because of my young age in 2006, I was ineligible to compete as part of the HSCC team. I used that year as an opportunity to prepare for success over the next five. My passion for technology and the support of mentors who challenged me to succeed helped me build a solid foundation for success as a member of the chapter’s HSCC team over the next five years.

2010 Nat'l HSCC Champs!

I served as the ‘Technical Lead’ on my team in the first two years (2007-2008). I later grew into the role as ‘Project Manager’ over the next three years (2009-2011). Over the years, I worked with a group of smart, talented students who had very different team dynamics. The one consistent factor in all five years is that we were all motivated to do well at the national HSCC championship.

In 2012 I accepted a leadership position on the BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter board of directors. I am currently the chapter’s vice president of technology and I hope to contribute to the growth of our chapter.

My BDPA experiences, especially the advice from my BDPA mentors, led me to decision to attend the University of Minnesota where I pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science with an emphasis in Software Engineering. Through BDPA I completed an internship last year with Mayo Clinic. I recently accepted a summer internship as a program manager with Microsoft.

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Adwait is a shining example of the BDPA vision to advance the careers of people in the Information Technology industry from the classroom to the boardroom. Can any of us doubt that Adwait Walimbe is the future face of technology?!

Bemley Scholar Caroline Tremain Heads to University of Minnesota

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) has given out over $318,000 in scholarships to more than 150 students since 1999. One of those talented scholarship students is Caroline Tremain. She was a member of the 2006 high school computer competition (HSCC) team trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter. Her team took home the silver medal in the 2006 national HSCC championships held in Los Angeles CA. As a result, Carly earned a Jesse Bemley Scholarship.

Carly decided to use her Bemley Scholarship to help defray the costs of attending the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities). She shares her thoughts on the decision with us:

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My name is Caroline Tremain. I graduated Mayo High School in Rochester, MN and anxiously await the start of my college studies at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities where I will pursue an area of business at the Carlson School of Management.

As I was going through high school I had different aspirations for my future. I first thought I wanted to become a lawyer. I was an active member on the debate team and believed that it would be an interesting career that I would be good at. In my senior year I did a mentorship with a local judge. I sat in his courtroom every Tuesday morning for three hours. After listening to many cases and watching the same people appear again and again for committing the same crime, I decided I did not want to be a lawyer, at least not a public defender. I like a sense of completion with my work and to me it seemed like lawyers never really complete their jobs, unless the case ends. They only chip away at parts of a case for months or even years. That would drive me crazy.

I once thought that I wanted to be an obstetrician. A close family friend of mine is an obstetrician and always talks about the beautiful baby girls and boys that she helps bring into the world everyday. However after I saw the birthing video in my sophomore year health class I quickly decided that I needed to find another profession. The health industry as a doctor or nurse was not for me. Blood and fluids need to remain inside the body for my job.

In addition to my mentorship senior year I was also the student director for the school musical. That fall we put on the show Annie. I realized that I have natural leadership skills and I can work proficiently at getting major tasks done with a group of people. I really enjoyed this because it kept me involved and in control of most of the aspects of the play. I am not sure what job I will end up doing but I concluded that a business degree could get me a job that I would enjoy and thrive at.

I started looking at schools that had good business programs that were close to home. I wanted to get out of Rochester but I didn’t want to go to far away. I found the University of Minnesota and St. Thomas University. After being accepted into both schools I had to make the decision between a small or a large school. I visited both and felt more comfortable at the University of Minnesota.

I am currently undecided on my major but I think it might lean towards marketing. My dad was a marketing manager for twenty-seven years and I think some of his job skills rubbed off on me a little. I understand it pretty well, but I know that there is still so much more to learn. I am very excited to start this fall and begin my future.

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I hope that you will take a moment to use the POST A COMMENT option to share some BDPA-Love with Caroline! It is important that BDPA continue to support our HSCC alumni in the years after they participate in the national HSCC championships.

Good luck in your future Carly!

BDPA Legacy: Ahmed Mahamad (University of Minnesota)

I've watched Ahmed Mahamad over the past few years as he came to the annual BDPA Technology Conferences. He has been a student representative of our BDPA chapter from Rochester, MN. He began his BDPA legacy as a high school student ... and continued it this year as a student participant in the college division of the BDPA IT Showcase.

Here is Ahmed's story:

As a University of Minnesota student, majoring in Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences, Ahmed Mahamad finds tremendous satisfaction helping his peers achieve their own successes. In 2006 Ahmed joined the BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter Youth Computer Training Program (YCTP). The YCTP class is focused on teaching advanced web programming to high school students. BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter trains over sixty students each year, meeting for three hours each Saturday over nine months. At the end of a rigorous training season, the top five students are chosen to represent Southern Minnesota chapter at the National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Championship.

In Ahmed's first year participating in YCTP he immediately excelled in the class, quickly learning each programming language that was taught, including HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP server side scripting and MySQL relational databases. What stood out most about Ahmed was his intense effort and motivation. He eagerly met every challenge and displayed immense creativity. Ahmed was awarded a spot as an alternate on the chapter’s National HSCC team, a rare achievement for a first year student.

After his successful “rookie” season in YCTP, Ahmed continued to grow in confidence, ability, and leadership. By his 2nd year in the program, Ahmed’s technical abilities and natural charisma drove him to become a leader among his peers. He served as a role model and mentor to other students, putting aside his own ambitions to help others succeed in this difficult course. His leadership and technical knowledge earned him a position on the 2007 National Competition team.

To prepare for the National HSCC Championship in 2007, the students worked with trainers for up to 30 hours per week throughout their summer vacations, practicing computer programming, project management, presentation, and teamwork. Ahmed's hard work paid off as he helped guide BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter to a first place finish in the nation at the 2007 National BDPA HSCC Championships in Washington D.C.

Ahmed continued to demonstrate leadership and technical acumen as he again earned a position on the 2008 National Competition team and guided the chapter to its second consecutive first place finish at the National BDPA HSCC Championships held in Atlanta, Georgia. Upon returning to Minnesota, Ahmed's endearing personality made him a favorite among local reporters.

After two consecutive first place finishes at the Nationals, Ahmed was determined to lead his chapter to their third consecutive national championship at Raleigh, North Carolina. BDPA Southern Minnesota has earned its place as one of the most respected chapters in BDPA nation.

This year Ahmed competed in the BDPA IT Showcase with a paper, presentation and poster on Robotics Bioinformatics and Medicine.  It is the first time in BDPA Southern Minnesota history that a student has participated in this challenging event.   At the same time, Ahmed served as Southern Minnesota’s first student instructor.

Our hope is that BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) will be able to provide scholarships for IT Showcase students in the future ... and we would love to provide full 4-year scholarships to HSCC champions. Please contact us if you have ideas on how we can 'make it so'!

Bemley Scholars Heading to John Hopkins University and University of Minnesota

We are pleased to note that two of our HSCC alumni have applied for Bemley Scholarships this month. We are processing scholarship payments for Elise Jefferson (Southern Minnesota, HSCC Class of 2006) and Nicholas Akogyeram II (Southern Minnesota, HSCC Class of 2005).

Elise (back row, 2nd from the left in the team photo) was on team that took home the silver medal from the 2006 national high school competition held in Los Angeles, CA. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities). We are processing her $1,500 Bemley Scholarship application.

Nicholas (far right in the team photo) was on team that took home the gold medal from the 2005 national high school competition held in Detroit, MI. He is pursuing a degree in Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. We are processing his $2,500 Bemley Scholarship application.

Our hope is that Elise and Nicholas will learn about this posting and share a testimonial on their experience that we can use to grow the Bemley Scholarship fund. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Bemley Scholarship Fund in recognition of the work put in by these remarkable young people.

We are very proud of both of these remarkable students. Please take a moment to POST A COMMENT to either or both of these young people. Let's make the BETF-Blog an interactive experience!