25 Aug, 2007
Rochester MN (Post-Bulletin) - Hours and hours of study, even during summer vacation, paid off recently for a team of seven young computer programmers.
The high school students took first place in the national Black Data Processing Associates Technology Conference, which was held Aug. 15-17 in Washington, D.C.,
The Southern Minnesota BDPA chapter team beat peers from much larger cities, including Washington, D.C., and Detroit, and the defending champions from Chicago.
"Our team achieved the highest score on both the written and programming portions of the competition, and of course, the highest overall score, which is what earned us first place," said the team's coach Zachary Garbow, an IBM software engineer.
The team members are Yaa Kwansa, a Schaeffer Academy sophomore; Ahmed Mahamad, a Mayo High School junior; Lauren Pemberton, a Lourdes High School senior; Kunle Roberts, a Mayo senior; and Adwait Walimbe, a John Marshall High School freshman. Alternate members are Mohamed Ibrahim, a John Marshall junior; and Katie Lettelleir, a 2007 Century High School graduate.
Each of the winners came away with a trophy, a $3,000 college scholarship, a digital camera, a photo printer and an mp3 music and video player.
The competition included oral and written exams in computer programming, and an eight-hour project.
Students need solid math and programming skills to do well in the competition, Garbow said. The students met with Garbow and other BDPA coaches for eight months to prepare for the contest.
Source: Post-Bulletin, Aug 25, 2007