BDPA Twin Cities SITES Program (2013)

The Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) program has been up and running for over a quarter century within BDPA. Two of the frequent initiatives under the SITES umbrella are the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) and the BDPA IT Showcase. BDPA Twin Cities chapter has a powerful legacy in both of these student initiatives since its founding in January 1989.

BDPA Twin Cities chapter student training program is free and available to all students with a passion for technology. It is held on Saturdays and includes three levels of education. BDPA thrives from a great group of dedicated volunteers and parents. This year, the “circle of learning” continues as HSCC alumni return to teach and coach new students. Classes are exciting as students learn programming languages (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, C#, MySQL), web development, project management, and team building skills. They also gain insight from IT professionals that come in every week to share their career experience. By the end of our program, students become young IT leaders and take pride in being “Nerdy”.

L-R: Kelly Martin, Samuel Odumakin, Sifora Tek-Lab, Jesus Vega, Justin Wulf, Opeyemi OdumakinJorian Wulf, Qadre Ayinde, Kiani Burkett, Roman Gradford, Joshua Cunningham, Hillary Thomas Jr., Diliet “Shortcut” Tekie, Salvador Rojas, Jonathan Rojas, Xzavier Wells, Isaiah Brown, Alondra Rojas, Phoenix Lewis, Ariana Pope, Aron Tek-Lab, and Daze Davison

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) urges you to reach deep to support these young people. Please make a secure online donation and designate it in support of the BDPA Twin Cities programs, scholarships and services.

BDPA Corporate Supporter: ThoughtWorks

Please welcome ThoughtWorks on board as one of the 102 corporations to have invested in BDPA programs, scholarships or services in the past 365 days!  The company's principal consultant worked with BDPA Dallas chapter president Stacy Stewart to create a partnership that will result in future monthly program meetings (including vittles) to be hosted by ThoughtWorks.

Rest In Peace: Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013)

Today we mourn the death of international hero Nelson Mandela. His life personifies 'the heart of a lion'. He led the fight against apartheid with extraordinary vigor and resilience after spending nearly three decades of his life behind bars. He sacrificed his private life and his youth for his people, and remains South Africa's best known and loved hero.


Mandela was born July 18, 1918. He was jailed in November 1962 for leaving the country illegally and for incitement to strike. While serving the sentence he was charged with sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment.

In prison Mandela demonstrated his heart by never compromising his political principles. He was always a source of strength for the other prisoners. Nelson Mandela's reputation grew steadily. He was widely accepted as the most significant Black leader in South Africa and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid movement gathered strength. He consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom.


More people watched his release from prison on February 11, 1990 than any other prisoner in the history of the world. Some even analyzed the details of his speech he gave on his release! He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He served as president of South Africa from 1994-1999.

Mandela has honorary degrees from more than 50 international universities. Nelson Mandela retired from public life in June 1999 and he currently resides in his birth place - Qunu, Transkei.

Here is my Pinterest board dedicated to Nelson Mandela

BDPAers, o you remember your participating in protests against apartheid? Do you remember how you felt when Mandela was finally released from prison? Can you deny that this quite man of peace found a way into your heart?

Rest in peace, Madiba!

Tech Expresso Cafe Podcast: BDPA Atlanta Chapter President Derrick Brown (Dec 5, 2013)

Derrick Brown, BDPA Atlanta chapter president, was the guest on the Tech Expresso Cafe podcast produced by BDPA members David Blackman and Jacqueline Sanders. The discussion focused on the vision that Derrick has for BDPA Atlanta chapter as it enters into the new year. BDPA Atlanta chapter is the 4th largest chapter in the nation and it has some remarkable programs, scholarships and services. Enjoy the podcast:

More Technology Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Tech Expresso Cafe on BlogTalkRadio

We invite all BDPA stakeholders to enjoy the podcast!

BDPA St. Louis SITES Program (2013)

The Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) program has been up and running for over a quarter century within BDPA. Two of the frequent initiatives under the SITES umbrella are the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) and the BDPA IT Showcase. BDPA St. Louis chapter has a powerful legacy in both of these student initiatives since its founding in January 1989.

BDPA St. Louis Chapter is dedicated to developing the next generation of IT professionals by overseeing various computer training sites across the St. Louis area over the course of the year. Shining students from those training sites are selected to attend a 13-week intense training program offered at Monsanto. The program teaches high school students how to effectively present to a group; gather requirements; design a usable interface; code web applications; and test functional components. The students are challenged to build web applications using HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript and MySQL. The intense training sessions were taught this year by John Cooper and Tiffany Jones.

Toni Love (HSCC Coordinator), John Cooper (HSCC Trainer), James Fields, Tiffany Jones (HSCC Instructor),
Jacqueline Nobbe, Christina Miller, DaShawn Staples, Della Anjeh, Cameron Smith Albert Ware (Volunteer),
Oseyi Ikuenobe (Volunteer) and Tom Bast (Volunteer)

Not pictured: Vincent Anjeh, Desmond Jason, Akshaya Nandakumar, Lauren Schmiedeler and Abby Vandeven

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) urges you to reach deep to support these young people. Please make a secure online donation to the BDPA St. Louis Chapter HSCC Scholarship Fund.

Grant Disbursement: BDPA Charlotte ($9,063)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is pleased to announce approval of $9,063 grant disbursement to BDPA Greater Charlotte 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 Charlotte chapter president Markus Beamer requested the funding to pay for its Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in 2013.  This project lasted for eight months and allowed IT professionals to teach high school students how to build 3-tier web applications.  The SITES program introduces these young people to real-world problems and assists them in building solutions for those problems.  The highest performers from this program were awarded an all-expenses paid trip to Washington DC to participate in the Youth Technology Camp and compete in the 2013 National BDPA High School Computer Competition championship!

Congratulations to BDPA Charlotte chapter 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'.

This Week in BDPA (December 1-7, 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 :

• Dec 2: BDPA New York - Fundraiser, 'Holiday Celebration & Fundraiser'
• Dec 5: BDPA Chicago - Networking, 'JPMorgan Chase Networking Event'
• Dec 7: BDPA Atlanta - Webinar, '2013: Our Chapter's Year in Review'

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.