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!