Grant Proposal: Cincinnati Bell (BDPA Cincinnati)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked closely with the officers of the BDPA Cincinnati chapter to submit a grant proposal to the Cincinnati Bell seeking $5,000 for the 2018 Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program.  We should get an answer within a couple of months.

BETF is willing to work with any of the 46 local BDPA chapters to obtain the funding that they need to successfully deliver their 2018 SITES program. Simply reach out to the BETF executive director if you have questions or wish to discuss further.

Rest In Peace: Jim Cunningham (1946-2011)

BDPA Cincinnati chapter member James M. ("Jim") Cunningham lost his two-year battle with cancer on February 11, 2011. Jim represented BDPA on Ohio's Third Frontier Initiative when it was being crafted by the governor. Jim also served as a director of the BDPA Cincinnati Entrepreneur Special Interest Group and was moderator of the BDPA-Telecommunications YahooGroup.

Jim had a long career with Cincinnati Bell and served as the Information Technology department director at National College in Cincinnati. Jim's skills, knowledge and talents will be missed by BDPA and the IT industry in southwest Ohio.

Rest in peace Jim.

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Message from BDPA Cincinnati Chapter President

Dear BDPA Cincinnati chapter members,

As we enter the last month of the first quarter for 2014 – it’s Full Speed Ahead!

Black History month is rapidly fading in our rear view mirrors and ahead is a full month of activities for our chapter and its members! While we accomplished great things in February including passing our 2014 budget, recognizing our 2013 High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team, holding our Corporate Advisory Council meeting, and bringing on-board two more BDPA volunteers – we still have a full deck ahead of us! So GREAT JOB TO ALL FOR YOUR FEBRUARY VOLUNTEER EFFORTS! (T)ogether (E)veryone (A)chieves (M)ore!

The month of March is starting off with more challenges. We need to fill our remaining open board positions. If you are not ACTIVELY participating on the BDPA board, please give consideration to lending your time and talent to the success of this organization. We need you. Your community needs you. Our students need you. The time commitment is roughly 4–6 hours a week when we are at full board strength. Can you lend a hand? Contact me directly if you are interested and visit our chapter landing page to see which positions are open and are of interest to you. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

At our monthly program meeting on March 19, our guest speaker, Dr. Russ McMahon, will speak on the 'History of Computing in Cincinnati'! This will be a very engaging and exciting exchange of ideas and information. As always, bring your resume and business cards at this professional development and networking opportunity session. You can sign up to attend this highly interactive and informative session here.

A huge THANK YOU to two of our corporate sponsors this month. First, Cincinnati Bell provided sponsorship for 60 student memberships. Secondly, Northern Kentucky University provided sponsorship to support our HSCC team going to the national HSCC championship later this year! The 36th Annual National BDPA Technology Conference will be held in Indianapolis, IN this year from August 5-9, 2014. These financial investments are critical to the success of our chapter. This funding increases our ability to engage and connect these under-served youth on their BDPA developmental journey 'from the classroom to the boardroom'!

Our Youth Technology Computer Camp is going strong as well with 16 students in attendance at the Saturday classes being held at Cincinnati State Technical College. Visit the BDPA Camp website for more information or to contact the training team. Also, we encourage any of you who will be in the Charlotte, NC area on March 14-15, to say hello to our very own Hadiya Harrigan as she is recognized for winning the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing! Congratulations again Hadiya! We are very proud of you and your accomplishments!

As always, your feedback is earnestly solicited. Send me a note or pull me to the side at the monthly program meeting. This is YOUR chapter.

• Are you feeling engaged?
• How is your BDPA membership working out for you? 
• How can we improve the value of your membership? 

Lastly, are you a member of the BDPA Cincinnati Groupsite? Take a moment to join now and stay connected with what is going on with the chapter. Keep a look out for our upcoming BDPA “Members Only” events and outings! We want to see you soon at these very unique opportunities to connect with other active chapter members.

Sincerely,
Dalric Webb, president
BDPA Cincinnati Chapter

Related articles

• Message from the BDPA Cincinnati Chapter President
• Cincinnati.com, 1/6/2014 (Hadiya Harrigan)
• Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, February 2014)

BDPA Cincinnati Corporate Advisory Council

Patrick Nelson (P&G), Tina Welch (CSC), Wayne Stein (HP) and Kevin Murray (Cincinnati Bell)

The BDPA Cincinnati Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) was established in April 1994 and is comprised of corporate representatives who have joined in support and sponsorship of BDPA Cincinnati programs and activities. The CAC serves as an advisory board to the chapter's Board of Directors and hosts the annual Education & Scholarship Banquet as well as the annual Awards Luncheon. The CAC is responsible for determining its own membership each year.

The current BDPA Cincinnati CAC membership consists of:

• Patrick Nelson, CAC Chair, Procter & Gamble
• Patricia Melford, Global Novations
• Kevin Murray, Cincinnati Bell
• Scott Sanders, CSC Consulting
• Wayne Stein, Hewlett-Packard

Feel free to reply to the blog post if you would like to learn more about the CAC concept or see the CAC Cincinnati chapter's charter or recent meeting notes.

BDPA Midwest Regional High School Computer Competition Showcase Young Superstars in Science and Technology

In the new global economy, America needs a workforce with the knowledge and skills to compete. A new workforce of problem solvers, innovators and inventors who are self-reliant and able to think logically is one of the crucial foundations that drive innovation capacity in the nation. A key to developing these skills is strengthening science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competencies in every student and worker.

BDPA stepped up to the challenge by hosting a BDPA Midwest Regional High School Computer Competition (HSCC) and IT Showcase held at Cincinnati State Technical College on June 11, 2011. Students from Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit and Los Angeles gathered for an opportunity to compete in oral exams, written tests, presentations and web-based design/programming projects.

Conference participants were inspired by the opening remarks given by Cincinnati State president O'Dell Owens and BDPA Cincinnati chapter president Wanda Gray.

Two students from Detroit, Austin Little (University Academy HS) and Daniel Rothchild (Pioneer HS), demonstrated excellence throughout the event to take home the gold medal for their first-place performance.

The silver medal went to Cincinnati students: Hadiya Harrigan (Xavier HS), Christian Johnson (Mason HS) and Curtis Mimes (Taft HS).

The bronze medal went to a team of three students that participated via Skype from Los Angeles: Pooja Chebolu (California Academy of Math and Science), Akindele Davies (California Academy of Math and Science) and August Robinson (Hamilton HS).

Cincinnati Bell chief information officer Kevin Murray visited the regional competition to personally observe the work being done by the students. He noted that one of the high school students on the Cincinnati team recently accepted a summer internship within the Cincinnati Bell information technology department. He is looking for an opportunity to create a collaborative experience in the coming weeks and months between BDPA, Cincinnati Bell and Taft Information Technology High School.

Many of the students in this weekend's regional HSCC championship will have opportunity to travel to Chicago later this summer for the 26th annual National BDPA HSCC Championship in an effort to dethrone the 4-time defending HSCC champions from Rochester, Minnesota.


Another inspiring aspect of the event was the BDPA IT Showcase. This event aspires to create young people with skills and interest in pursuing STEM-based Ph.D. degrees after they graduate from college. There are too few people of African descent getting doctoral degrees in computer science and other STEM-based curriculum. BDPA hopes to create a pipeline of such academic superstars with its BDPA IT Showcase.

The four Cincinnati-based students who participated in the IT Showcase were: Jahaan Maiden (University of Cincinnati), Li-Ara Jackson (Mason HS), Landon Jackson (Mason HS) and Tariq Maiden (University of Cincinnati). These young people gave detailed presentations on a variety of topics including: 'History and Current Uses of GPS', 'Virtual Reality in Second Life' and 'How Global Processing Units Have Changed the World'.

BDPA Columbus chapter member Ricardo Wilkins shared his thoughts on the event on his blog. He also took time to record some comments from participants in the event.





The parents, volunteers, judges and sponsors were inspired by the performance of all the students who traveled by highways and cyberspace to participate in the BDPA Midwest Regional HSCC and IT Showcase. The hard work put in by Joseph Parker (Procter & Gamble) and his planning committee paid off in a major way.

BDPA is committed to prepare our children for careers in science and engineering much begin long before they are of college age. BDPA has a number of programs that enrich the pre-college STEM curriculum in the nation’s K-12 school systems, and encourage young students to take the requisite courses for careers in those fields. While the lack of preparation crosses all demographics, it is particularly acute in under-served communities.

We encourage you to find a way to support BDPA programs as either a volunteer or donor. Please contact BDPA Education and Technology Foundation executive director Wayne Hicks on (513) 284-4968 if you have questions or wish to discuss further.