Five students win CompTIA 25th anniversary IT scholarships
Smart homes, smarter cars and more environmentally-friendly computing solutions are among the technology innovations of tomorrow that will have greatest impact on society, according to the winners of an essay contest sponsored by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).
CompTIA announced today it has awarded a total of $25,000 in scholarships to five students pursuing careers in information technology (IT) whose submissions to the CompTIA 25th Anniversary IT Scholarship Essay Contest were judged to be the best.
High school seniors and college students were asked to write an essay of up to 1,000 words on the coolest new technology of the next 25 years. Winners of the CompTIA scholarships are:
* James Brandon McMenemy of Columbia, S.C., a graduate of Ridge View High School now enrolled at Clemson University. His product of the future is the result of collaboration between the IT and automobile industries, making driving accidents a thing of the past.
* Kristie Pollard of Rutland, Vt., a graduate of Stafford Technical Center and currently a student at the Community College of Vermont. Kristie wrote about the “kitchen networking” movement that will bring the supplier closer than ever to the consumer – right into their kitchen.
* Louis Wegner of Racine, Wis., a second-year student at Gateway Technical Center. Louis believes that the coolest new technology of the next 25 years will be hardware and software that work smarter, not harder, bringing about drastic changes in energy consumption, thus reducing the environmental impact of computing.
* Nick Stocchero of Naperville, Ill., a graduate of Naperville Central High School now attending Bradley University. Nick’s vision of the future has every home equipped with its own personal search engine, where occupants will use speech recognition software to find everything they have in their house, from old family photos, to car keys, to wallets.
* Travis Bligen of Tampa, Fla., a graduate of Manatee Technical Center now attending Erwin Technical Center. Travis’ winning entry focused on “tOdO,” a device designed to provide more advanced, entertaining mobility for consumers; and solve issues such as not having enough outlets in one room for all of your electronics.
“If these five young people are representative of the IT entrepreneurs and leaders of the next five, ten or twenty years, the future of our industry is in great hands,” said John Venator, president and chief executive officer, CompTIA. “There is no better way to celebrate CompTIA’s 25 years of service to the IT industry then to foster the career development of the young people who will lead our industry for the next 25 years and beyond.”
The complete winning essays can be found at http://www.comptia.org/25th/contest.aspx.
About CompTIA
In 2007, CompTIA is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Just as the information technology (IT) industry it serves has grown, CompTIA has also enjoyed remarkable growth over the past 25 years. The organization was founded by representatives of five micro-computer dealerships working together to find better ways to do business. Today, CompTIA has more than 22,000 member companies in over 100 countries around the world; and serves as the voice of the world’s $1 trillion-plus IT industry. CompTIA is committed to advancing the long-term success and growth of the IT industry by helping organizations maximize the benefits they receive from their investments in technology; and by helping individuals to obtain the skills and credentials they need for productive careers in IT. For more information, please visit: www.comptia.org.