NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing

Calling all digital divas, web chix, and coder girls!

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is a coalition of more than 200 corporations, academic institutions, government agencies and nonprofits working to increase women’s participation in IT. 

NCWIT seeks high-school-level young women to apply for the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing! The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing honors young women active and interested in computing and encourages them to pursue their passion for technology. 

Brandee Lyles

BDPA Columbus student member Brandee Lyles was a regional winner last year!   My hope is that all of our digital divas who participated in the recent 2011 National BDPA High School Computer Competition championship will take a moment to submit an application for this award.

Winners get cool prizes, gadgets, and scholarships, and can join a community of like-minded technical women. National award-winners are selected from across the country and Affiliate Award competitions are available in more than 30 regions nationwide.  All girls at all computing levels are encouraged to apply -- NCWIT wants to recognize aspirations, not just accomplishments!

National award-winners receive:

·      $500 in cash

·      A laptop computer

·      An engraved award (for both the student and her school)

·      An expenses-paid trip to the national Award ceremony (for the student and her parent/guardian)

Affiliate Awards will vary by state. 

Competition for the 2012 NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing is open to any U.S. high-school-level female (grades 9-12). Applications will be accepted beginning September 15, 2011, and must besubmitted online by October 31, 2011.

For information on hosting an affiliate event contact Ruthe Farmer, ruthe.farmer@colorado.edu.

HSCC Alumni Brandee Lyles Wins NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing

This blog told you about the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing a few months ago. This is an award that honors young women at the high-school level for their computing-related achievements and interests. Awardees are selected for their computing and IT aptitude, leadership ability, academic history, and plans for post-secondary education. The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing offers both a national and local "affiliate" competitions (including statewide in Ohio) to generate support and visibility for women participation in communities nationwide.

I ended that blog post with a simple question, "Will we have any BDPA student members applying for this award this year?"

The answer came from a young lady named Brandee Lyles. She was a member of the BDPA Columbus national team at the 2010 High School Computer Competition (HSCC). Brandee is one of just 10 young women selected for the NCWIT Award from the state of Ohio. All of BDPA-nation will be cheering her on April 2 in Columbus, Ohio when she will be honored for her remarkable technology talents.

Congratulations Brandee!

HSCC Testimonial: Brandee Lyles (Columbus, 2010)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) strives to share testimonials from any of the students who participated in the 2010 national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship held in Philadelphia.

Today, our HSCC alumni testimonial is from Brandee Lyles, a young lady currently completing her senior year at Licking Heights High School. Brandee was a member of the national HSCC team trained by our BDPA Columbus chapter. Here are her thoughts on the experience:

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I truly enjoyed myself at the BDPA conference. To be honest at first I didn’t think I would have liked being there. I thought that it would be boring, just all work and no fun. In the end the whole trip turned out to be successful, even though I had to leave early, the time I spent there was very beneficial.

All the activities worked my brain and kept me on edge the whole time. I always looked forward to what was next, other than the long boring speeches. It was nice to be around other children that you could relate to and had somewhat similar interests. Most of the adults there were nice and helpful.

I believe the best part of the trip was the people I was around, my teammates (see above photo) and chaperons. I felt comfortable with all of them, all the laughs during dinner (we were dead during breakfast), the frustrations of trying to figure out why the code wasn’t working, even the staying up late then struggling to get up early in the morning. Plus who could complain about free meals? Overall I think my team and I worked very well together and I am looking forward to doing the program again.

BDPA Columbus High School Computer Competition Team (2010)

I think it would be wonderful for a team from Ohio to win the National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship. The young people trained by BDPA Columbus chapter have confidence that they will perform well this week at the 2010 national HSCC championships in Philadelphia PA.

BDPA Columbus chapter began formal training session ins February 2009. The goal of their program is to increase interest in information technology for high school students. The program provides an enviornment where students have an opportunity to compete on an academic to showcase technical skills, project management skills, oral presentation skills and teamwork skills. The training sessions ... led by instructor Ricardo Wilkins ... are held each Saturday for three hours ... and the students are expected to complete homework assignments, quizzes and projects.

The 2010 National Team from Columbus OH (shown in the photo) consists of:: Donyae Baldwin, Devon Howard, Brandee Lyles and Jacob Wilson.