Grant Disbursement: BDPA Greater Columbia ($2,550)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is pleased to announce approval of $2,550 grant disbursement to BDPA Greater Columbia chapter. This grant disbursement flows smoothly with our vision to achieve, through investment in education and technology, an informed Black community prepared to lead and leverage the knowledge revolution for the benefit of the community-at-large.

BDPA Gr Columbia Students

BDPA Greater Columbia chapter president Mildred Allen requested the funding to pay for the High School Computer Training Program and High School Computer Competition (HSCC) program in 2013. Twenty-five students participated in the 2013 program on a local level in South Carolina. Ten of these student members participated in the National HSCC and the Youth Technology Camp during the 2013 BDPA Technology Conference in Washington DC.

Congratulations to BDPA Greater Columbia for its strong efforts to provide meaningful STEM-related programs to its young people. BDPA is making a difference in its efforts to promote the 'future faces of technology'.

Grant Award: IBM ($3,000)

Paulette Johnson-Davis

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is very grateful to IBM for its recent grant award of $3,000 that recognizes the volunteer work done by IBM retiree Paulette Johnson-Davis. Paulette is a long-time BDPA leader who currently serves as the vice president of business management for the BDPA Greater Columbia chapter. She submitted an IBM Community Grant request for funding in mid-July. We learned today that the request had been approved!

The grant approval letter read, in part:

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Dear Mr. Wayne Hicks,

On behalf of International Business Machines Corporation, I am pleased to tell you that a cash grant of $3,000.00 has been approved to support BDPA Education and Technology Foundation's IT Training Support program. This grant has been awarded in recognition of the volunteer service of Paulette Johnson-Davis. IBM's Community Service grants are based on requests from employees or retirees who have a record of active and ongoing involvement with not-for-profit organizations and schools.

We are pleased to support BDPA Education and Technology Foundation and extend our best wishes for continued success of your programs.

Sincerely,
Wanda Guy
CCCA Program Administrator
International Business Machines Corporation

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Paulette's volunteer efforts have been in support of the Student Information Technology Education & Technology (SITES) program implemented by BDPA Greater Columbia chapter. The funds from this volunteer grant will be restricted for the benefit of her chapter.

The process is a simple one ... our hope is that other BDPA chapters will work with BETF to increase the flow of grant income over the coming weeks and months.

Oracle Scholarship Winner: Anthony Coleman (BDPA Greater Columbia)

Oracle senior diversity consultant Traci Wade announced the winners of the 5th annual Oracle Scholarship for BDPA Students during the 2013 BDPA Awards Gala. One of those winners is BDPA Greater Columbia student member Anthony Coleman.

Anthony is a senior at Dutch Fork High School with a STEM course concentration in computer science. He has been a member of the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team trained by BDPA Greater Columbia chapter for the past three years. He was the HSCC team captain this year! Anthony is already making plans to participate in the 2014 BDPA Technology Conference as a participant in the BDPA IT Showcase.

Anthony is also involved in the Junior League of Greater Columbia leadership program and serves as a student liaison for his school district Cyber Saturday Technology event. BDPA is very proud to recognize Anthony as a 'future face of technology'!

Oracle Scholarship Winner: Brandi Taylor (BDPA Greater Columbia)

Oracle senior diversity consultant Traci Wade announced the winners of the 5th annual Oracle Scholarship for BDPA Students during the 2013 BDPA Awards Gala. One of those winners is BDPA Greater Columbia student member Brandi Taylor.

Brandi is the proud daughter of Jessie and Yvette Taylor. She is currently a 10th grade student at Irmo High School in Columbia, South Carolina. Brandi participates in many extracurricular activities including, Track, Girls Scouts, National Beta Club, National BDPA and her local church. She has won numerous awards such as, National Junior Scholar (2009-2010) and Academic Excellence (2010-2011).

Brandi is a two-time participant in the BDPA IT Showcase. Her IT Showcase research and presentation was entitled, 'Penetrating the Cloud: Exploration of Cloud Computing.'  Brandi’s current career plan after high school is to become a Nurse. Her ultimate motto is “I can do anything if I put my mind to it.”

BDPA Greater Columbia High School Computer Competition Team (2013)

BDPA Greater Columbia chapter is one of the most remarkable local BDPA chapters in the nation. They have shown a commitment to providing meaningful STEM learning experiences for K-12 students in South Carolina. The training is conducted under the umbrella of the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. Chapter leaders and volunteers are offering seminars and workshops in web development (asp.net), programming (vb.net) databases (mysql), java script, system development life-cycle, web site story boarding and argile project management methodology. The students in the chapter's SITES program are also taken through a series of workshops in video creation and editing, creating web page profile, and oral presentations.

L-R:   Perry Cates, Jr., Kevin Rabinovich, Joel Schirmer, Cody Shearer, James Smith,
Jalil Peterman, Makayla Ishmal, Constance Elkins, and  Braxton Robinson
Not pictured: Horace Bookman, Brandon Elkins, Amber Goodman, Kayla Jackson,
Ashley Taylor, and Anthony Coleman.
Instructors: Kelvin Robinson and Alex Rabinovich

The funding for training these young people comes from corporate sponsors (BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and IT-oLogy), membership dues and supportive donors like yourself!

Message from BDPA Greater Columbia Past Chapter President

Paulette and Raven

BDPA Members and Friends,

BDPA Greater Columbia chapter president Mildred Allen and I were honored to be present at the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Commissioning ceremony on Friday, May 10th at the Duke University Chapel, Duke University, in Durham, NC. Raven Stevenson, a graduate of our local High School Computer Competition (HSCC) training program, was commissioned in the United States Navy on Friday, and she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Duke University on Sunday. What an outstanding set of achievements!

You may remember Raven as the HSCC student who won the $180,000 scholarship in 2009 while competing at the HSCC competition in Washington, DC. Her fellow team members were Dominique Geiger and Sami Patel.

L-R: Rick Leggett, Paulette Johnson-Davis, Perry Carter, Mildred Allen, Ensign Raven Stevenson, Monique Berry and Carl Hill

After the Commissioning Ceremony, the BDPA Triangle Chapter hosted a reception for Raven and her family at the First Flight Venture Center in Durham, NC. The reception was attended by members of Raven’s family, National BDPA president Monique Berry, as well as by members of the BDPA Triangle, BDPA Washington DC and BDPA Greater Columbia Area chapters.

Ensign Stevenson will report in August 2013 to CG 66 USS HUE CITY in Mayport, Florida. We congratulate Raven on her outstanding accomplishments and wish her every success in the future.

Sincerely,
Paulette Johnson-Davis
Vice President of Business Management
BDPA Greater Columbia Area Chapter

Where Are They Now? BDPA Greater Columbia Chapter Presidents

BDPA Greater Columbia chapter has created quite a legacy for itself since being chartered in 1997. For example, one of the young people trained by the chapter is currently enrolled at Duke University on a $180,000 college scholarship that she won during a national BDPA conference from the United States Navy [SOURCE].

Mildred Allen

The chapter is also a ripe source of national leadership. Two members of the chapter have served as national officers in recent years. Mildred Allen did remarkable work as National BDPA vice president of membership management. The national organization created a new membership database and web portal under her leadership. Paulette Johnson-Davis (BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina) implemented new and improved programs for BDPA in her role as our National BDPA vice president of member services. Both of these women have also been active leaders in past national BDPA technology conferences.

BDPA Greater Columbia is blessed to have some remarkable and visionary women as its past presidents since 1997:

• 1997-1999: Barbara Singleton Code (Strayer University)
• 2000-2001, 2006-2009: Paulette Johnson-Davis (BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina)
• 2002-2003, 2012-2013: Mildred Allen (SCANA)
• 2004-2005: Tonya Dorsey (BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina)
• 2010-2011: Phyllis Coleman (BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina)

My joy with the chapter has been its commitment to the education and mentorship of young people. Scores of students have been trained by BDPA Greater Columbia in the past few years ... in fact, the chapter hosted a regional conference with participation from students in Atlanta, Charlotte and elsewhere.

Our hope is that BDPA Greater Columbia chapter will continue to evolve as a beacon of light for all of us in the information technology industry over the years to come. You can do your part -- please make a secure online donation towards college scholarships for BDPA Greater Columbia students.