High School Computer Competition (Chicago, 2014)

BDPA Chicago, founded March 1986, is the reigning BDPA Chapter of the Year. Our Chicago chapter has won that prestigious award four times (1992, 2000, 2005 and 2013). However, the proudest accomplishment of the chapter may be the two times - 1994 and 2006 - that they took home the gold medal for the national BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC). BDPA Chicago is one of only two chapters to outperform BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter over the past ten years in the national HSCC championship. The chapter's HSCC coordinator shared his insights on that 2006 championship effort with our blog a few years ago.

Hundreds of young men and women have been impacted by the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in Chicago. Some of these students shared their thoughts about BDPA in this video clip:



We are pleased to report on the progress of the students featured in this video:

• Courtney Elzy scheduled to graduate next year from Illinois State University.
• Joseph Huggins, Jr. graduated from the US Naval Academy. He now serves our nation as a midshipman for the US Navy.
• We are unsure about the current whereabouts of Kenneth McCune. Do you know where he matriculated for college and such?
• Carlton Means attended Hampton University. He is now working at Adventist Midwest Health.
• Lee Reed graduated with honors from the University of Michigan. He now works for BDPA sponsor Deloitte.

There are new students competing for the right to represent the chapter at the 2014 HSCC championship in Indianapolis. The national team for Chicago will be selected from among the students shown in the photo shown below.

Back Row: Malcolm Range, Tyrese Cook, Raymond Adams, DeVaughn Welch
Middle Row: Cassie Bey, Christian Cherry, Paige Davis
Front Row: Matthew Davis, Marcus

BDPA Chicago Chapter’s SITES program teaches students in 6th through 12th grade to create web applications with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, Ajax and PHP using components of the agile development methodology. Students that are ineligible to compete learn how to create android mobile applications. In addition to technical topics, the students are coached in effective study habits, presentation skills, professionalism and leadership. The top five students based on participation points, homework, and test scores will participate in the national competition.

These BDPA students are encouraged to pursue post-secondary education, be the best that they can be and encourage others to do the same. We need support from our blog's readers to raise funds to provide college scholarships for BDPA Chicago students. Won't you help us by making a secure online donation?

Related articles

• Overview: BDPA High School Computer Competition

Bemley Scholar Courtney Elzy Heads to Illinois State University

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) has given out hundreds of college scholarships over the year. It never gets old! There are BETF scholarship winners attending major colleges and universities all over the nation.

Today we learn that Courtney Elzy -- a member of the 2008 BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Championship bronze-medalists trained by BDPA Chicago chapter -- plans to use her Jesse Bemley Scholarship to study graphics design at Illinois State University.


Courtney shared insights on her BDPA experience with us:

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The first day joining BDPA might have been the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life. I didn’t know much about what the program was about nor what was expected of me. The only thing I was sure of was my pattern skills were good enough to get me in.

I remember walking into a classroom of new faces, holding my head down scared of what people might say, being new and all. Accompanied by my aunt, who was way more excited than I was, I honestly wanted to go home. I was a freshmen and I was surrounded by older kids who knew what they were doing and were confident.

I remember months later becoming as confident as my teammates, and changing from the shy girl to the girl who didn’t want to be quiet. I’ll admit it was hard for me to stay focused and push myself to be better. But when the actual BDPA National High School Computer Competition (HSCC) came that year I was ecstatic and ready to compete. That year Chicago came in 3rd place, and I couldn’t have been more happy and pleased with myself and my team.

Since 2008 I stayed on for one more year, then decided that I needed to focus more on school. But thankfully I have still managed to maintain very close relationships with my coaches and members of my team.

This fall I will be attending Illinois State University as a Graphic Design major!

I would like to show my appreciation and thank BETF and BDPA for furthering my knowledge of information technology and opening my eyes to the many great and amazing people I have met over the years. Also, I want to share my appreciation for Gibran McDuffie, Pamela Norfleet, Bryan Moore, Yvette Graham, and the host of other BDPA Chicago chapter members and volunteers that have helped me throughout my HSCC experience.

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Courtney is an inspiration to all of us that love the good works of BDPA. We want to continue giving out Bemley Scholarships for many years to come to other young people like Courtney. We can't continue without your help!

HSCC Testimonial: 2009 BDPA Chicago High School Competition Team (VIDEO)

This is a remarkable video pulled together by BDPA Chicago education director Deborah De Vaughn. It provides some remarkable insights from the five young people that represented Chicago at the 2009 National BDPA High School Computer Competition Championship held in Raleigh NC.





We are very proud of Courtney Elzy, Joseph Huggins, Kenneth McCune, Carlton Means and Lee Reed. In fact, these young people have inspired us to create a college scholarship fund for future BDPA Chicago students!