Leslie Fuqua (Pike High School, Indianapolis, IN) is recipient of the 2010 Eli Lilly Scholarship for BDPA Students. The 2010 scholarship amount is $2,500. The scholarship is administered by the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF). This essay was part of the scholarship application package

1. “Why Information Technology is Important”
by Leslie Fuqua (Pike High School, Indianapolis IN)
From a personal perspective, technology has always been part of my life. It is
permanently ingrained into my everyday life activities. I cannot identify a point in time during
my life where I was not using technology at school or at home. Because of this extensive and
intensive exposure to technology, I readily embraced this mode of communication which has
served me well by incorporating non-technological tools with our ever evolving technology.
While my mother has not fully emerged herself with technology, my father has. Both are “baby
boomers”, which make up one of the largest segments of our population. As new technology is
developed, ease of use for the entire population will be a necessity to lessen the digital divide.
I often feel as if I live in two worlds because of the divide between my parents and their
views on technology. I rely on technology for speed and simplicity. Recently with the launch of
the new Apple iPad and the spread of 3-D technology, one can only imagine the impact this will
have on the media industry. The 3-D technology will give viewers the sense of being right in the
“mix” of what is happening. While some individuals will revel in this emerging technology,
others will not readily accept 3-D technology as the norm. Then there is the problem, how could
this technology be supported from a global perspective. People in poor countries still do not
have access to well establish technology like laptops, digital televisions, or even cell phones.
Costs or economics to bring technology to the masses in underdeveloped nations is challenging
now and will be in the next five years. This will only add to an increase in the digital divide
among developed and underdeveloped nations.
With technology used to support and enhance education, the educational systems globally
that do not have access to technology to support learning, might find their students falling further
behind as the rest of the world continues to move rapidly forward with new technology. This will
be a major challenge within the technology industry. The demand for more “high tech” media
delivery will force manufacturers to develop better and faster technology. This demand will be
met by producing more improved digital products.
To lessen the digital divide, one solution would be to look at opportunities to recycle and
refurbish obsolete digital products for underdeveloped countries. Solar powered batteries would
be one way to provide an energy source to operate this equipment. We cannot continue to
produce digital equipment and simply discard the old product for a new one. The information
technology industry like other industries will have to find a way to help protect our environment
and keep pace with the every changing world of technology. Just like technology has always
been part of my life, finding a solution to make affordable technology available for each person
in the world will continue to enhance people’s lives. This is why Information Technology is
important today and will be in the future.
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