Cincinnati.com, 9/11/2013 (Clarence Larcarte)

L-R: Hassani Harrigan, Hadiya Harrigan, Brian Pulliam and Kiese Wamba

BDPA Cincinnati students place 5th in the National High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Championship. The HSCC championships were held during the annual BDPA Technology Conference last month in Washington, D.C. This placement comes after placing 7th in 2012.

BDPA Cincinnati chapter president, Clarence Larcarte (Procter & Gamble), had this to say on the team’s success: “This is the culmination of months of hard work by the students and their instructors. I’m proud that Cincinnati is represented by such brilliant young minds and I know that these students have very bright futures ahead of them.”

Read the full Cincinnati.com article.

KTTC Rochester, 9/9/2013 (Herchran Singh, BDPA Southern Minnesota)

BDPA Southern Minnesota Award Scholarships. Students were recognized at the Black Data Processing Associates Southern Minnesota Chapter awards ceremony at Rochester's International Event Center on Sunday. BDPA is a non-profit organization of professionals working or interested in the IT industry. This year's High School Computer Science Competition team took home first place at the national technology conference in Washington DC last month. Team members were awarded scholarships at the ceremony.

2013 National BDPA HSCC Champions (L-R: Isaac Gullickson,
Preethiya Sekar, Prabhjot Singh, Herchran Singh and Daniel Sheppard)

"I joined because I wanted to learn about computers," said Herchran Singh, BDPA Scholarship Recipient. "Having the award is just a bonus, the knowledge is the real award. The scholarships that come along are just wonderful because they're so helpful. We do need them."

According to members, BDPA Southern Minnesota works nationally to foster relationships with leading companies in the IT industry.

Read the full KTTC Rochester article.

Washington Informer, 8/21/2013 (Monique Berry, Michael Bijou, Francisco Nunez)

BDPA Helps Bridge 'Digital Divide'. The digital revolution in the U.S. was growing 38 years ago. Corporations were replacing electric typewriters with desktop computers. Consumers started purchasing computers for home use. Schools placed computers in classrooms. But in Philadelphia, Pa., Earl Pace and the late David Wimberly, both African Americans, worried that African Americans and other people of color would be left out of the IT (Information Technology) industry.

They founded BDPA, which currently has 45 chapters, including the District’s, and more than 2,000 members. Its ethnically diverse membership includes IT professionals and college students majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

“The ‘digital divide’ has become wider” despite BDPA’s efforts, Monique Berry, BDPA’s national president said. “It starts in elementary school, where our children are discouraged from taking the harder sciences. In colleges, our students don’t have mentors in the sciences and IT. BDPA mentors and encourages college students to enter IT.”

Read the rest of the Washington Informer article.

PR.com, 8/17/2013 (Renetta English, Earl Pace)

Renetta English and Earl Pace

BDPA New York Receives Award at the 2013 National Conference. BDPA New York was awarded the National Management Award for the third year in a row at the 2013 National BDPA Conference, in the Washington Hilton, Washington, District of Columbia.

Read the rest of the PR.com press release.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 6/1/2013 (Monique Berry, Pamela Sexton, Viola Maxwell-Thompson)

Monique Berry

BDPA Conference to Spotlight Change and Innovation. The National Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA, www.bdpa.org) will hold its 35th Annual Technology Conference from August 13 to 17. The event, which includes a wide variety of activities, will take place in Washington, DC at the Washington Hilton.

"Washington is a great conference location,” says Monique Berry, National BDPA president. “This is going to be one of our biggest conferences ever."

The theme of the conference is 'Diverse Opportunities in The Age of Convergence,' which speaks to the changes taking place in the world of information technology.

"Technology changes every day, and the focus is no longer just on computer programming,” says Berry. “With the emergence of social networking, cloud computing, and smart appliances, and the need for graphic interfaces [Pamela Sexton, conference director, notes that some interviews will happen on the spot.] everywhere, a variety of new career opportunities allow for greater creativity within the IT field."

Read the rest of the Diversity/Careers Magazine article.