Computer science students from Chautauqua Lake, Dunkirk, Fredonia, Gowanda, the Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) — Hewes Center, and BOCES — Carrier Center recently competed in the 14th Annual Computer Science competition sponsored by the Department of Computer and Information Sciences.
The students participated in contests in computer programming, electronic spreadsheets, web programming and a “Quiz Show” contest.
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| Web programming winners: Alex Gleason (with, from left) Systems Administrator Mike Szocki, Anna Sena, Joshua Janicki and Dr. Ziya Arnavut. |
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| Spreadsheet winners: Mr. Szocki with (from left) Nate Manning, Chris Miller and Dr. Arnavut. |
The Programming Competition challenged students to write computer programs to solve a series of problems. Students could use the programming languages of C++, Java, Python or Visual Basic. Joseph Steffan, Spencer Gates and Ben Stepowski from Gowanda High School won the programming competition. The team from Fredonia High School captured second and a team from Gowanda was in third place.
The Web Programming Competition involved designing a professional web page and coding that page using the Hypertext Markup Language. Student work was judged based upon appearance and functionality. Joshua Janicki, Anna Sena, and Alex Gleason from Chautauqua Lake High School placed first and teams from Chautauqua Lake and Fredonia took second and third place.
The Spreadsheet Contest challenged students to use Microsoft Excel functions, values, formulas and labels to solve a series of real world business problems. The spreadsheets wer judged for mathematics accuracy, functionality and appearance. The Fredonia High School team of Nate Manning and Chris Miller took first place honors. Two teams from Dunkirk High School captured second and third place.
The “Quiz Show” contest consisted of teams of three students answering a series of general knowledge questions on topics related to computers and computer science. The questions involved both mental calculations and reasoning. The first place team, from Gowanda High School, consisted of Spencer Gates, Vito Jefferlone and Ben Stepowski. Teams from Dunkirk High School and Fredonia High School took second and third place honors.
Fredonia has been hosting the computer science competition since 2003, and this year there were 49 student participants. The contest chairman was Mike Szocki, system administrator at Fredonia. He was assisted by Dr. Michael Scialdone, Dr. Gurmukh Singh, Dr. Gentian Buzi, Dr. Ziya Arnavut. Derrik Decker and Gregory Cole.
According to department faculty, the computer science industry is projected to grow much faster than other industries over the next 10 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While some niches within the field are expected to grow more quickly than others, Computer Science and Computer Information Systems are two excellent choices for a career with a solid future and high earnings.
For information about the Fredonia’s Department of Computer and Information Sciences visit its website.
