Classroom to the Boardroom: Della Anjeh (Pomona College)

Della Anjeh is entering her junior year at Pomona College where she majors in computer science. She is a member of our BDPA St. Louis chapter and participated in 2011 and 2012 on the chapter's High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team. She earned a Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship when her HSCC team took home the silver medal in 2012. Later she earned a Monsanto Scholarship ... also administered by the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation. Part of her application included an essay entitled, 'Communication, Knowledge and Innovation: Outcomes of Technological Advancement in Agriculture'.

Della currently is the webmaster for New Ideas Education, a start-up that allows Chinese students to improve English by video chatting with college students. Della also runs the College Lowdown, a podcast that gives advice on what it’s like to navigate and study at an elite college for low-income and first generation students. Della plans to work in the tech world and isn’t quite sure which area she wishes to pursue, but figures it will be in either data structures or design.

We asked Della to share thoughts about her BDPA experience:

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Della Anjeh

"Ever since I received the email in ninth grade that an after school computer teaching club called BDPA would meet on Wednesdays, I never knew that it would lead to me becoming a second place national champion at the 2012 BDPA conference, that I would become the lead webmaster for a start-up, or that I would major in computer science at one of the best schools in the country. It’s just one of those things that turned out to be bigger than I ever anticipated.

I remember being at the conference in Chicago during the oral question part of the competition. For fun, our team learned from a YouTube video to count in binary with our fingers, so for every binary question our team or the other teams received, we would quietly count with our fingers together. Needless to say, we were always correct. I also remember the courses in robotics we took that taught me a lot about an aspect of computer science that at that point I hadn’t had to opportunity to explore. And of course, I’ll never forget when we were called out as the second place team in the competition that year. It was amazing especially since I was going off to college in a few weeks making 2012 my last year to be eligible to compete in the HSCC championship. All the hard work I put in since 9th grade and up to my senior year of high school truly paid off.

I can’t ever forget what BDPA has done for me, and I continue to reap the benefits of the program now as I’m starting my 3rd year of college, and my first semester as a declared computer science major. I have no idea what my future will be like, but I know that BDPA will continue to stay in my mind as one of the places I felt that I could let my talent shine."

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BDPA created the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship program to propel students in our community from the classroom to the boardroom. We want our children to have their best chance to 'win the future' by getting grounded in science, technology, education and mathematics. Della is showing us that we're on the right track. We need your help to keep it going! Would you please consider making a secure online donation to support BDPA programs, scholarships and services?

BETF Announces Winners of 1st Annual Monsanto Scholarship for BDPA Students

Some companies talk the talk about promoting STEM-based advancement for BDPA student members. They talk about wanting to create the workforce of the future by supporting BDPA programs, scholarships and services.

Other companies walk the walk.

Monsanto Company walks the walk. Monsanto is a BDPA Bronze sponsor with a focused executive leadership team that is fully committed to the BDPA vision of advancing the careers of people of color in the information technology industry from the classroom to the boardroom.

One example of that commitment became obvious when Monsanto agreed to provide college scholarship funding for the first annual Monsanto Scholarship for BDPA Students. The company partnered with the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) to provide $10,000 in annual scholarships to students with an interest in pursuing or continuing a 4 year academic program related to information technology.

In 2013, we are proud to announce the first-ever Monsanto Scholars ... each of whom will receive a $2,500 scholarships to assist with their studies.

1. Della Anjeh is an incoming freshman at Pomona College. She is a member of our BDPA St. Louis chapter and participated in 2011 and 2012 on the chapter's High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team. She trained for six weeks in the summer of 2011 at Monsanto world headquarters office in preparation for the 2011 National BDPA HSCC Championship. Her scholarship application included an essay entitled, 'Communication, Knowledge and Innovation: Outcomes of Technological Advancement in Agriculture'. Della is a remarkable young woman and truly deserves to be known as a 'future face of technology'. Follow Della on Twitter: @DellzBells.



2. Jala Cruz is a junior at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis majoring in Informatics. She is a long-time member of our BDPA Indianapolis chapter. This is not the first that that BETF has provided college scholarship funding to Jala. She recently shared her story on the BDPA iRadio Show. I think the aspects of Jala's journey that gives us the most pleasure is her entrepreneurial efforts as the owner and publisher of her own teen magazine. Her scholarship essay was entitled, 'The Pursuit of Agricultural Technology'. Follow Jala on Twitter: @JalaCruz.


  
3. Alex Marcellus is an incoming freshman at Purdue University where he plans to major in engineering and computer science He is a new member of our BDPA Cincinnati chapter. Alex completed a stellar high school career at Summit Country Day School where he was the salutatorian while graduating with a astronomical 4.752 grade point average. His scholarship essay was entitled, 'How Information Technology Impacts Agriculture' This is another young man who deserves to be known as a 'future face of technology'.

Monsanto Company is making a statement with these three BDPA scholars. The company is showing that they want to be part of the solution. They aren't satisfied with just talking about it ... they want to do something about it. I wish that others in Corporate America will do the same! We would love to give out more college scholarships to BDPA students in 2014. What say u?