Rochester Post-Bulletin, 8/26/2017 (Kyle Croarkin, Anjali Donthi, Tiera Felder, Vedha Somashekar, Tristan Trejo)

Rochester Students Win National Computer Competition. Rochester Public School students took first place at the National High School Computer Competition in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the end of July.
Southern Minnesota's branch of the Black Data Processing Associates won the National BDPA High School Computer Competition, facing off against 13 others, with a team that included Kyle Croarkin, Anjali Donthi, Tiera Felder, Vedha Somashekar and Tristan Trejo. For the win, each member of the team received a $3,000 scholarship.

Rochester students attend the National Black Data Processing Associates High School Competition held in Cincinnati, Ohio at the end of July. From left to right (around the table: Vedha Somashekar (9th grade at Century), Tristan Trejo (Freshman at University of Minnesota), Kyle Croarkin (9th grade at Mayo), Anjali Donthi (9th grade at Century), Tiera Felder (9th grade at Century)

The two-day competition included a seven-hour programming project, followed by a written portion, which included about 130 questions on web technologies, programming languages, number conversion from decimal to hexadecimal, the history of Black Data Processing Associates, cyber security and more. Students don't know what they'll be tasked with creating before the competition. This year, it included creating a web application that would allow them to locate a car they were interested in purchasing, purchase the car with a loan and perform an analysis on the depreciation value over time.

Read the rest of the Post-Bulletin article.

Penn State News, 8/21/17 (Zion Emmanuel)

Making a Difference: Dean's Fund Helps Student Maximize His Success. At the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), innovation and engaged scholarship are two pillars that drive the college’s growth. Two crucial elements that support these ideals are the Dean’s Excellence Fund and the College of IST Future Fund, which offer unrestricted financial resources to address IST’s most pressing needs and create opportunities for students.

Zion Emanuel discusses a research project

In the case of Zion Emanuel, an undergraduate student majoring in IST with an emphasis on design and development, these funds are providing the assistance he needs to reach his full potential.

As an accomplished high school graduate of the Academy of Health Sciences in Largo, Maryland, and a member of the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA), a group working to increase underrepresented groups in technology, Emanuel arrived at Penn State with a passion for technology and numerous college credits under his belt. With his outstanding academic achievements, he earned a place in the Millennium Scholars Program, a prestigious initiative to foster students to become leading researchers in STEM fields.

Read the rest of the Penn State News article.

Business Wire, 7/18/2017 (Linda Clement-Holmes)

Linda Clement-Holmes

BDPA Confers Lifetime Achievement Award to Linda Clement-Holmes, First Female African American President at Procter & Gamble. Information Technology giant BDPA will honor Linda Clement-Holmes, Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) first female African American President and Special Advisor to the P&G Chairman and Chief Information Officer, with their Lifetime Achievement Award during BDPA’s 39th Annual National Technology Conference Awards gala on Saturday, July 29, 2017 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

BDPA is the largest African American information technology association in the U.S., and the largest national non-profit organization continually involved in training students underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

“We are privileged beyond words to present Linda Clement-Holmes with the Lifetime Achievement Award -- BDPA’s highest honor. Ms. Clement-Holmes represents all that BDPA stands for in her illustration of supreme commitment and dedication to the Information Technology industry,” said Pamela Mathews, National BDPA Vice President and Conference Director.

Read the full Business Wire article.

Business Wire, 7/11/2017 (André Taylor, Mike Williams)

BDPA Announces Business Visionary André Taylor as 2017 Keynote. BDPA, the leading member organization promoting diverse participation in information technology, computer science, and related STEM fields, announced today that author, entrepreneur, and media personality André Taylor will keynote its 39th Annual National Technology Conference and Career Fair, themed “BDPA DISRUPT 2017,” taking place July 26-29, at the Duke Energy Center, in Cincinnati, Ohio. André Taylor, chief executive of the management consulting firm Taylor Insight Worldwide, is the author of a half-dozen books including the bestselling, You Can Still Win! Break Through, Bounce Back, Come from Behind and Flourish. André is well-known for his writing on business and entrepreneurial leadership, corporate speaking, and frequent appearances in the media. However, his pioneering role as an entrepreneur in media and technology is not as well known. In the 1990s, his sports media and technology company, Interactive Sports, was the first to stream video online for professional sports teams to use strategically. The company later created online brands for sports fans which dominated in their categories. During his keynote, he’ll describe “How to Win Right Now” in today’s complex business environment, and will also lead a panel discussion on winning at entrepreneurship in the technology sector.

Read the full article here.

K-12 bloggED, 3/19/2017 (Malik Saafir)

Malik Saafir and Denice Delk

See Why This GCA Pair are STARS! Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA)’s Malik Saafir and Denice Delk were recognized as a STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Recognition) student and STAR teacher by the PAGE Foundation.

Malik, a 17-year-old senior at GCA, received this recognition by having the highest SAT score in his graduating class and for being in the top 10% of his class. He was grateful to receive the recognition, especially since the award took him by surprise.

“Earning the STAR student recognition felt surreal, because I had no idea I had the highest SAT score in my class,” Malik said. “I was ecstatic!”

Read the rest of the K-12 bloggED post.

NOTE: Malik was a member of our 2016 BDPA High School Computer Competition Team!