2003 National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Rankings

It is the beginning of a new year ... Is it a good time to look back at our successes in the past? Were any of you members of BDPA in 2003 when we held the national BDPA Technology Conference held in Philadelphia, PA? We had 21 HSCC teams competing for a national championship that year.

BDPA Memphis chapter continued their dominance of the computer competition by winning another championship. They were challenged by the team trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota. The gap between the gold medal and the silver medal was less than 1% of the total points awarded.

Here were the rankings from the 2003 HSCC championships!

1. Memphis - (Auriel Echols, Cornell Gaulman, Brittany Middleton, Trevor Williams and Mitchell Word)
2. Southern Minnesota
3. Chicago
4. Greater Columbia
5. Detroit
6. Greater Tampa Bay
7. Cincinnati
8. New Jersey
9. Columbus
10. Bay Area
11. Dayton
12. Richmond
13. Dallas
14. Los Angeles
15. Washington DC
16. New York
17. Cleveland
18. Charlotte
19. Baltimore
20. Philadelphia
21. South Florida

This was the only competition in the past seven years in which BDPA South Florida competed. I'm hopeful that the new leadership in Miami will result in a team competing for the national championship this year.

The BDPA Foundation wants to provide 2-year scholarship funding to the top five teams this year. However, we need to increase our funding of the Bemley Scholarship Fund in order to do so. Would you care to help us make it so? Use the COMMENTS link below to make a pledge ... or go online to do so.

Did you attend the 2003 BDPA Technology Conference in Philadelphia? If so, what do you remember about it?

HSCC Testimonial: Jamarr Hill (BDPA Detroit, 2003-2004)

Jamarr Hill was a member of the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team trained by BDPA Detroit chapter to compete in the National BDPA HSCC championships held in Philadelphia (2003) and Dallas (2004). He graduated from Martin Luther King High School before studying for a marketing degree at Wayne State University. Jamarr is the owner and chief executive officer of his own company, Balla-Status, Inc.

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I would like to thank Mr. Wayne Hicks for the opportunity to share some experiences that I had as a proud alumni of BDPA’s High School Computer Competition (HSCC). From the moment we tested to see where our skills were, I knew that I would love my journey. I was blessed to have wonderful teachers and excellent sponsors. I learned Java (the best programming language to date) and was able to piece together something that made me feel empowered, creative and cutting-edge. I don't know if BDPA knew it, but they were really preparing me for the future as web applications and design was in its infancy at that time.

After learning a new language and then learning to play a role. We were introduced to an environment that made the inner geek in me smile from ear-to-ear. We traveled to Philadelphia for the 2003 national HSCC championship. There seemed to be thousands of high school aged pioneers at the hotel. We were all there, not just to win, but to learn and grow.

Looking back on those years allowed me to see that I was being steered in a direction that affected my college choices, career choice and life choice. Thank you BDPA. I owe you all my happiness.

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BDPA Education and Technology Foundation is proud to be able to share these HSCC testimonials for posterity. We appreciate Jamarr and the hundreds of other young men and women who have participated in almost 30 years of HSCC championships! We can use your help with funding college scholarships for young people like Jamarr.