BDPA Philadelphia Chapter SITES Program (2013)

The Student Information Technology Educational Scholarship (SITES) and High School Computer Competition (HSCC) programs are designed to inform and inspire students from the Philadelphia area to pursue careers in Information Technology, while laying a solid foundation for their collegiate and professional careers. The programs have an intensive training curriculum for students in grades 8 through 12, focusing on HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, PHP, Databases, Leadership and Communication.

The SITES program in Philadelphia starts in October and runs through August at the downtown campus of DeVry University. Here is a photo of the young people who participated in the 2013 SITES program:

Sitting (L-R): Granford Collins, Daneel Douglas, Kevin Roman
Standing (L-R): Jasmine Beard, Devon Tompkins, Logan Murphy (HSCC Trainer), Norman Morrison, Mohit Panchal

We are proud of the continued growth of the SITES program hosted by our BDPA Philadelphia chapter.  However, we know that we could do more with your support.   Please consider making a secure online donation in support of BDPA programs, scholarships and services!

This Week in BDPA (September 29 - October 6, 2013)

BDPA offers strong programs in 46 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Oct 1: Technology Expresso Cafe' - Podcast, 'Who and What is the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation?'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA Foundation Twitter Account
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events.

HSCC Testimonial: Nikki Hoffler (BDPA Charlotte, 2008-2012)

Nikki Hoffler

Nikki Hoffler comes from BDPA royalty. Her brother, Christopher, is a multi-year participant in the National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships. Her father, John, has served as president of local BDPA chapters in both St. Louis and Greenville. In fact, her father will become a local BDPA president for a record-setting third time in January 2013 when he takes on the role as BDPA Charlotte chapter president.

However, Nikki stands alone with her own personal BDPA legacy ... she has been a 5-time participant in the National BDPA HSCC championships (2008-2012) on teams trained by BDPA Charlotte chapter.

Nikki is entering into her sophomore year at Mount Holyoke College.  She won a 2013 Oracle Scholarship for BDPA Students earlier this summer.  We've asked Nikki to share remembrances of her BDPA experiences.

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"A few years ago my HSCC team went to a ropes course to do team building exercises. I especially remember the 'Leap of Faith' where each team member would climb to the top of a telephone pole and jump off, knowing that their safety rope was held by the rest of the team. It was amazing to see how our team dynamics transferred seamlessly from coding on a computer to physical trust exercises. We had a great time.

Every year I look forward to doing the Cha Cha Slide with everyone: my teammates, my friendly competitors, and our lovely volunteer chaperones. Once the competition is over and the banquet is done, everyone starts to relax a little. But it still takes a little coaxing to get all the students to dance. Luckily, we have chaperones like Melvin Rogers, Markus Beamer, and Jamesetta James, who are brave enough to take the floor. It amazes the new students every time!

First of all, it was my experience in HSCC and BDPA that made me such a strong candidate for college applications. I applied to many "reach schools" and got into nine out of the ten universities to which I applied, four of which awarded me additional merit-based scholarships.

When I came to Mount Holyoke College, I knew I wanted to be a Computer Science (CS) major and although I consider myself to be an introvert, networking at BDPA conferences gave me the skills to take advantage of the resources I have at college. This year I will be both a writing mentor and a teaching assistant for a CS freshman seminar that is based upon the research I did for the department this summer.

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Our hope is that Nikki will consider becoming part of the BDPA IT Showcase in 2014. For now, we wish her nothing but success as she enters her freshman year in college. At the same time, we encourage you to Support BDPA Charlotte HSCC Training with a secure online donation!

BNSF Railway Foundation

The BNSF Railway Foundation is dedicated to supporting the communities they serve and in which their employees live, work, and volunteer. Your organization, or program, should exist in or serve a community near one of BNSF's rail lines to be eligible to apply for grants. Please refer to the BNSF system map to determine whether you are located on a BNSF route.

The Foundation's Grants Review Team meets monthly so that there is no deadline for applying. Please be aware that it could take up to 6 months before a decision is made regarding our request, depending on whether they need additional information, and other factors.

One area of focus for BNSF Railway Foundation is: Civic services including organizations which are concerned with the environment, as well as local community issues such as crime prevention, parks and recreation, diversity and community development.

This is not a perfect fit for BDPA's SITES program ... however, BETF is willing to give it a try if there are interested local chapters.

BDPA Northern Virginia Provides STEM Training for Young People

The Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program is growing stronger all across the nation. Evidence of this fact can be found in Northern Virginia ... home of our BDPA Northern Virginia chapter. The SITES program is designed to instruct students in technology and build them for success in the future business world.

Here are the young people in the 2013 SITES program in Northern Virginia:

Seated (L-R): Princess Robinson, Michelle Ruiz, Ebony Jones, Beleicia Bullock, and Nnedimma Ugochukwu
Standing (L-R): Kayla Johnson, JaRhonda Roberts and Christal Robinson

BDPA Northern Virginia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. The chapter hasn't been active with programs for adult IT professionals for a couple of years. However, the chapter partners with BDPA Washington DC to provide meaningful STEM-related training to dozens of young people. These students receive a solid foundation for their collegiate and professional careers. These 8th-thru-12th grade students have the opportunity to design, develop, test and present a finished web application. Students are trained to develop solutions to realistic business and industry problems using Java, JavaScript, PHP, SQL, HTML, MySQL Database, Tomcat and CSS. Students also gained essentials skills such as presentation delivery, communication, and teamwork.

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation is working hard to provide funding for SITES programs like this one all over the nation.  We need your help ... please make a secure online donation right away!.

BDPA Birthday Love for Milt Haynes

Please join us in wishing Milt Haynes a joyous natal day! Milt served on the national BDPA board of directors for over a decade as BDPA Chicago chapter president, national president-elect, national president and immediate past president. He is currently the National BDPA chief information officer.

Milt is a husband, father, grandfather, brother and son. He is also one of the hardest working brothers in BDPA. I think it is fair to say that Milt has raised more funds for BDPA through corporate sales than anyone in the universe.

I appreciate Milt because he served as my BDPA mentor from 1999-2001 when I served as president of the BDPA Cincinnati chapter. We rejuvenated the chapter from oblivion to the second largest chapter in the nation ... and much of the success is due to Milt's willingness to share best-practice information from BDPA Chicago chapter.

Milt will be a member of the BDPA Hall of Fame at some point. For now, we honor him here in cyberspace.

Please share your memories of Milt and wish him a happy birthday!

This Week in BDPA (September 22-28, 2013)

BDPA offers strong programs in 46 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Sep 22: BDPA Chicago - Workshop, 'Learn More About Virtualization, Linux, Security and Cisco'
• Sep 24: BDPA Foundation - Webinar, 'BDPA iRadio Show'
• Sep 25: BDPA Washington DC - Program Meeting, 'Windows Phone 8'
• Sep 26: National BDPA  - Conference Call, 'VP-Membership Leadership Meeting' 
• Sep 28: BDPA Chicago - Fundraiser, 'Annual Education Banquet'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA Foundation Twitter Account
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events.