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.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 9/16/2014 (BDPA Southern Minnesota)

HSCC Team Award winners, from left: Isaac Gullickson, Prabhjot Singh, Leo Alfred, Preethiya Sekar and Scott Swensen.

BDPA Southern Minnesota Hands Out Awards, Scholarships. The Rochester chapter of a national technology nonprofit presented a series of scholarships and awards at its annual banquet Sunday.

The Black Data Processing Associates, which matches high school students and mentors of all races and gender, held its 15th annual Scholarship and Education Banquet at the Rochester International Event Center. Through an extensive list of mentors and volunteers, BDPA delivers IT to its members, strategic partners and the community, "from the classroom to the boardroom."

Under the theme of "Diverse Opportunities in the Age of Convergence," the group led by founder Betty Hutchins of Mayo Clinic honored its outstanding members and volunteers during an event that featured many local alumni of the BDPA program who are either in college or have gone on to successful careers.

Read the rest of the Rochester Post-Bulletin article.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 9/8/2014 (BDPA Southern Minnesota)

BDPA Scholarship Banquet is Sept. 14. The Black Data Processing Associates, Rochester Chapter will hold its 15th annual Scholarship and Education Banquet on Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Rochester International Event Center, 7333 Airport View Drive S.W. A silent auction will be at 4:30 p.m. and dinner at 5:30 p.m.

The annual fundraiser will include awards, scholarship presentations and a celebration of BDPA's contributions to the Rochester community.

Tickets are $45 for adults and $30 for alumni and students.

See the full Rochester Post-Bulletin announcement.

Rochester Today, 11/1/2013 (Betty Hutchins, Will Smith)

2013 National BDPA High School Computer Competition Champions
BDPA Southern Minnesota

They Have 'IT': BDPA Celebrates the Information Technology Industry - Founded in 1975, BDPA had one goal in mind: to get more minorities involved in the computer science and information technology fields. Nearly 40 years later, those fields have grown dramatically, and BDPA (now with 46 chapters) has followed suit.

On Sept. 8, BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter celebrated its continuing mission with its 14th annual Scholarship and Education Banquet, held at the Rochester Event Center. BDPA is open to everyone -- regardless of race or gender -- interested in the IT industry.

"We help develop many skills, such as working with a team, math and computer skills in addition to soft skills such as presenting yourself to adults and speaking in front of a group." says BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter president Will Smith.

An estimated 140 guests attended, according to Betty Hutchins, founder of the local chapter.

"It was a great celebration", Hutchins said, "Just a great night."

Read the full article along with 9-photo slideshow.

Related articles

• KTTC Rochester, 9/9/2013 (Herchran Singh, BDPA Southern Minnesota)
• CollegeRecruiter.com, 4/24/2013 (Herchran Singh)

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 10/1/2013 (BDPA Southern Minnesota)

High Achievers Honored at BDPA Annual Banquet. It was a night of celebration at the BDPA Southern Minnesota's 14th annual Scholarship and Education Banquet on Sept. 8 at the Rochester International Event Center. The Southern Minnesota chapter of the BDPA awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships and numerous awards. BDPA is a global member-focused organization that positions its members at the forefront of the information technology industry. Through an extensive list of mentors and volunteers, BDPA delivers IT to its members, strategic partners and the community, 'from the classroom to the boardroom'.

Read the rest of the Rochester Post-Bulletin 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.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 6/7/2013 (Herchran Singh)

John Marshall High School Top Seniors. Herchran Singh, daughter of Gurninderjit Singh and Surinder Kaur, was a participant in science fair, Business Professionals of America, Black Data Processing Associates, Computer Programming, Speech, National Honors Society and mentorship at the Mayo Clinic Cardiovascular Research Lab.

She was involved in track, swimming and Indian Dance. She is a National Honors Society president, HSCC project manager, Punjabi School principal, BPA president, Society of Women Engineers Award, National Latin Exam, Rochester Regional Science Fair, swimming, track, speech, Business Professionals of America and NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award. Community service includes Punjabi School, National Honors Society, tutoring, Habitat for Humanity, school carnivals and Christmas Anonymous. She plans to major in biology and minor in computer science at Gustavus Adolphus College.

Read the full Post-Bulletin article.

CollegeRecruiter.com, 4/24/2013 (Herchran Singh)

Herchran Singh

CollegeRecruiter.com CEO Faith Rothberg M.C.’s Women in Computing Awards for High Schoolers. Last week, Faith Rothberg, CEO of CollegeRecruiter.com, served as the Master of Ceremonies for an awards ceremony designed to encourage young women to enter the highly rewarding career fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

The National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing awards ceremony was held on April 18, 2013 at the Unisys Corporation data center in Eagan, Minnesota. The ceremony was organized by Advance IT Minnesota, the high-tech talent incubator run by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. There were six winners and five runners-up in the first annual Minnesota Aspirations for Women in Computing award for high school students. Winners from across the state were selected based on their interests, accomplishments, and community involvement in computing and technology, as well as for their aspirations in computing and technology-related fields.

NOTE: One of the six winners was BDPA Southern Minnesota student member Herchran Singh of Rochester; senior at John Marshall High School.

Read the rest of the CollegeRecruiters.com article.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 8/17/2012 (Mike Espey, Hassan Hassan, Melcon Hinds, Daniel Sheppard, Herchran Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Adwait Walimbe)

BDPA Southern Minnesota Students win at National Competition. BDPA Southern Minnesota students won two awards at the annual national conference in Baltimore last month. In the IT Showcase, a competition for college students from around the country, Adwait Walimbe (Southern Minnesota Chapter alumni) placed third.

The High School Computer Competition team, which included Mike Espey, Hassan Hassan, Daniel Sheppard, Herchran Singh and Prabhjot Singh, placed fourth.

"While our goal this year was to win, I'm most proud of our students for their resolve to compete at the highest level in web development programming," Hinds said. "Their commitment to spend three hours each Saturday between December and May should be applauded. The preparation, work ethic and teamwork that these students show throughout the year leading up to the competition, as well as time spend helping the next generation of students in the program, leave me in awe."

Read the full Post-Bulletin article.

Rochest Post-Bulletin, 10/24/2011 (BDPA Southern Minnesota)

Business Networking and Educational Opportunities. AM Espresso, a monthly business networking breakfast event sponsored by the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, will run from 7:30 a.m to 9 a.m. on November 4th at 3050 Superior Drive 1900 Ballington Boulevard N.W. in Rochester. The Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) of Southern Minnesota are The Homestead is hosting this month's gathering.

Soulclap to the Rochester Post-Bulletin for sharing this event information.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 8/15/2011 (BDPA Southern Minnesota)

Data Processing Group Continues Its Winning Ways. By any measure, they have become an almost dynastic presence in national high school computer competitions. This year has been no different. For the fifth consecutive year and sixth out of seven years, five Rochester students representing the Southern Minnesota chapter of the Black Data Processing Associates claimed first-place in a high school contest that featured 19 teams from across the U.S. The southern Minnesota team won with a score of 871 points, followed by Detroit's 807 points and Columbus (OH)'s 628 points. In three of the nine years that BDPA Southern Minnesota didn't win the competition, it came in second place.

Read the rest of the Rochester Post-Bulletin article.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 8/12/2011 (BDPA Southern Minnesota)

Rochester Students Win National Computer Competition -- Again. BDPA Southern Minnesota stands for Black Data Processing Associates-Southern Minnesota. It's not the easiest name to remember, but the five high school students who represented the team at this year's national competition make it difficult to forget.

For the fifth consecutive year and sixth out of seven years, the Rochester team took first place in a national contest that measures computer skills. The highlight of the competition is a seven-hour programming project. This year, students were required to create a web application to allow customers to configure and purchase computer orders based on an inventory of electronic parts from multiple vendors.

Click here to read the rest of the Rochester Post-Bulletin article.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 6/10/2011 (Kris-Ann Hinds)

Century Grad Battles Illness on Her Way to Graduation. When Kris-Ann Hinds graduates from Century High School today, her accomplishment will go well beyond passing grades and test scores. Hinds has remained committed to living life her way, despite being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor last year. The qualities that defined her before her illness - determined, optimistic, sharp-witted - continue to shine, if not more brightly, like her smile.

Read the full Rochester Post-Bulletin article.

NOTE: Kris-Ann Hinds is a member of the defending national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship team trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 8/5/2010 (Zack Garbow)

Programming Students Pick Up 4th National Title. Can you say dynasty?  A team of Rochester high school students representing the local Black Data Processing Associates chapter chalked up its fourth straight national championship in a programming competition in Philadelphia last weekend.

"They have become kind of a dynasty," said Elise Pemberton of Rochester, parent of a former BDPA participant.

Read the full Post-Bulletin article here.

Rochester Metro News, 8/2/2010 (Zack Garbow)

Local Students Win National Award. Five Rochester high school students just won first place at a national computer competition. The students are part of a national organization called Black Data Processing Associates, or BDPA.

There are about 60 students from southeast Minnesota who meet every Saturday for eight months of the year. At the end of the eight months, they select five of the top students to go to the national competition.
The BDPA helps minorities succeed in technology careers.

"In the school system today, there isn't enough computer science particularly to really prepare the workforce for what's needed," says Zack Garbow, an instructor for BDPA.

The Rochester team competed against 23 other teams across the country. Each of the students won a $2500 college scholarship, as well as a laptop from Hewlett Packard for coming in First Place.

KTTC Rochester, 8/2/2010 (James Arama, Yaa Kwansa)

BDPA Takes First.





I'm not certain that the video is displayed correctly on our blog.  The original video clip can be found here.

SlideShare, 7/29/2010 (Ahmed Mahamad)

Ahmed Mahamad was a member of the national BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship team trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Ahmad entered the University of Minnesota after graduating from high school. He competed in college division of the 2010 BDPA IT Showcase presenting a paper, poster and presentation on Robotics and Bioinformatics in the Healthcare Industry.

Here is the presentation:

BDPA IT Showcase: Robotics and Bioinformatics in Healthcare Industry

View more presentations from Wayne Hicks.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 7/24/2010 (BDPA Regional Conference)

Community News: Data Processing Students Take First, Third. Teams from Rochester finished in first place and third place at the Black Data Processing Associates Minnesota regional youth competition July 10 at Century High School in Rochester. Teams from Rochester and the Twin Cities took part. The regional is considered a friendly warm-up for the national BDPA competition, which will be in Philadelphia at the end of July.

Read the full Post-Bulletin article here.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 3/27/2010 (BDPA Southern Minnesota)

Kids' Computer Training Program. This pilot project is in partnership with the Black Data Processing Associates Chapter (BDPA) of Southern Minnesota. The program will teach minority elementary and middle school students basic computer programming skills. The first pilot project group will meet for 1 1/2 hours every Tuesday evening. Call (507) 721-0966 for more information or to volunteer with Multicultural Learning Center.

Read the original article here.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 1/15/2010 (Toni Adafin, Betty Hutchins, Vi Johnson, Julius Kwansa, Charlie Perkins, Barbara Porter, Ray Ventura)

Perkins to Lead BDPA. The Black Data Processing Associates Southern Minnesota Chapter has elected Charlie Perkins of Rochester as president. Perkins serves as unit head for media support services at Mayo Clinic. Prior to working at Mayo Clinic, he served as vice president of Harris Bank in Chicago.

Read the full article here.