Joshua Silas Uses his Monsanto Scholarship at Tuskegee University

Joshua Silas * Tuskegee University

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to announce that Monsanto awarded a $2,500 college scholarship to four (4) students. One of those students is Joshua Silas of Tuskegee University.

We asked Joshua Silas to share his thoughts on BDPA.

"I participated in STEM summer programs at Tougaloo College and Lawson State Community College. Also, I attended a Summer Finance program at The University of Alabama-Birmingham. I have a passion for mathematics and sciences, especially physics. I am an analytical and critical thinker, who possesses strong leadership abilities. In addition to these qualities and skills, I am motivated and hard working. These attributes have aided me in accumulating a long list of academic honors and achievements.

I have demonstrated excellent leadership skills and is an active participant in academics, curricular activities, and the community. My curricular activities involved track, choir, scholar’s bowl and math team. I participated in service projects held by Habitat for Humanity, which is a charity that provides refurbished homes to those who cannot afford them.  The Relay for Life is a foundation that helps raise monies for cancer research and treatment in order to defeat the disease. I provided musical services for the foundation fundraiser held at Chelsea High School. The Village Creek Society is geared toward improving the environment within the 44 miles of its creek location that benefits residence, businesses, schools, and churches in its watershed.  The Fellowship House is a facility in Birmingham, AL that rehabilitates substance abusers.  In addition, I assisted fellow classmates with projects, homework assignments, and tutored students in math and science, upon request. This experience has given me the opportunity to learn from others, give back, and assists with important causes.

I desire to study electrical engineering. I first became interested in engineering when I visited E-day at Auburn University. I toured the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and saw the robots that were created and programmed by students. In that moment, I decided I wanted to study, research and potentially design robots. In addition, I have a very keen interest in developing video game consoles. Both of my interests incorporate physics and mathematics. I selected this major because I believe it will provide me the overall knowledge to assist me in pursuing my interests.

After high school graduation, I entered the FASTREC program at Tuskegee University. FASTREC is a pre-college summer session held for eight weeks that strengthened my knowledge and study skills in math and engineering.

I plan to pursue a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and minor in computer science at Tuskegee University. The Engineering program will offer a vast amount of valuable information that will provide me an educational experience that will enhance my career opportunities. As I continue my undergraduate studies, I will participate in internships or co-op opportunities to apply my learned skills. Thus, providing me a competitive advantage in the job market. Upon completion of undergraduate, I will pursue a master's degree and doctorate in Engineering, while maintaining a job at a consumer electronics company that will provide me experience in robotics and hardware. With enhanced knowledge and skills, I plan to pursue a lucrative career that will allow me to innovate and experiment with new ideas in the electrical engineering field."

Joshua enjoyed the BDPA Mobile Application Showcase. The Showcase was a nationwide competition that displayed applications created by students on their mobile devices. He hopes to participate in this Showcase in coming years.

BDPA is blessed to have such a young and talented student a winner of the Monsanto Scholarship. We look forward to supporting Joshua's career as he seeks to advance in the technology industry!

LaRae Adams Uses Her Johnson & Johnson Scholarship at Tuskegee University

LaRae Adams * Tuskegee University

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to announce that Johnson & Johnson awarded a $2,500 college scholarship to ten (10) students. One of those students is LaRae Adams of Tuskegee University. She will use the scholarship funding to support her education in Computer Science Information Systems.

As a college freshman, LaRae was named to the Tuskegee University Dean's List & Honor Roll. During her educational years, She was employed part-time on campus as an Administrative Assistant in the Office of the Registrar. This past summer, she worked at Archer Daniels Midland Company as a Project Management Services Intern.

For the last three years, LaRae held memberships and leadership positions on campus in Association for Computer Machinery, National Society of Black Engineers, California Club Public Relations Committee, Tuskegee University Events Committee and Heavenly Heels, an organization that donates lightly worn high heel shoes to middle and high schools for graduation and proms. This past December, LaRae became a member of the Tuskegee Chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success, an organization that recognizes academic excellence and leadership.

When asked to share his thoughts on being a Johnson & Johnson scholar, LaRae wrote,

"In June 2015, I joined the Greater Birmingham chapter of the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) through Tuskegee University. The organization is heavily involved in student mentoring, academic support through scholarships, and providing internship and valuable networking opportunities. My participation with BDPA has enabled me to establish a relationship with a mentor, who has offered information about career options. BDPA has also had an impact by introducing me to scholarship availability. Upon submitting applications, I was awarded scholarships from Oracle Corporation and Johnson & Johnson. My association with BDPA enabled me to receive much-needed financial assistance to support the continuance of my studies.

Following graduation, I plan to be a Business Analyst or Project Manager for an established and successful company whose corporate governance provides for outreach that supports offering a helping hand that contributes to the advancement of the community and world."

BDPA is blessed to have such a young and talented student on board as BDPA student member and a winner of the Johnson & Johnson Scholarship. We look forward to supporting LaRae's career as she seeks to advance in the technology industry!

Gabrielle Taylor Uses Her JnJ Scholarship to Study Computer Science at Tuskegee University

Gabrielle Taylor

Johnson and Johnson announced eight (8) winners of the scholarship offered to BDPA Students. One of the winners is Gabrielle Rochelle Taylor. Gabrielle is a member of our BDPA Greater Birmingham chapter. She is a sophomore at Tuskegee University where she is pursuing a Masters in Computer Science. Gabrielle is passionate about Tuskegee University and has devoted her time and effort to help make Tuskegee an even better place. During her freshman year, Gabrielle was the Executive Secretary of the Tuskegee Events Committee, participated on the Tuskegee Treasury Committee, organized campus events, and served as campaign manager on two successful campaigns. She is a member of the Tuskegee Honors Program and the Tuskegee Leadership Program while serving on several active committees.

During the summer of 2015 Gabrielle had the opportunity to serve as a Lead Mentor in the National Society of Black Engineers' SEEK Program. In this program she mentored third grade students and taught them about engineering by having them construct toys using engineering concepts.

Gabrielle wrote, "BDPA has impacted my life and future career by allowing me to be a part of this dynamic organization and providing me with scholarships. BDPA as an international organization has many connections and developmental opportunities that will help to advance my career aspirations. I believe that BDPA will continue to provide me with wonderful programs to increase my knowledge and skills in Computer Science."

Gabrielle will become a software engineer and write software that aid in the development of Artificial Intelligence. She enjoys speaking Spanish and plans to pursue her dream of missionary work in Latin America. As a result of her passion for learning other languages, she plans to develop a deciphering program which will make translating more accessible and simple. Gabrielle knows that her passion for Computer Science will grant her opportunities to help others and make their lives better. She is eager to see where Computer Science will take her and how she will make a difference.

"BDPA offers education, mentoring, support, and networking opportunities to tech savvy students like myself. I plan to take advantage of every opportunity because I know that each one will allow me to refine my skills with different technologies," said Gabrielle. "With the help of BDPA I know that one day I will be able to successfully develop technical solutions that will help many people."