Houston, Texas, Nov. 12, 2025 – A student programming team from Houston Christian University (HCU) earned a bronze medal at the Rice University site in Division II of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) South Central USA Regional, showcasing the team’s emerging technical skills and teamwork. The Husky Coders — James Ladd, Simone Dabney, and Ethan Giang — competed against dozens of teams from universities across Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma to medal at their site and placed eighth overall in the regional standings.

The ICPC, the world’s oldest, largest and most prestigious programming competition for university students, brought together competitive teams to solve complex, real-world algorithmic problems under intense time pressure, fostering creativity, innovation and performance under pressure.

Teams of three battled the clock to crack at least 10 algorithmic challenges. Sharing a single computer, team members took turns coding, debugging and strategizing—pushing their teamwork and problem-solving skills to the limit.

HCU’s performance reflects the university’s growing emphasis on computer science education and hands-on learning experiences that prepare students for success in technology-driven fields.

Katie Evans, Dean of the HCU College of Science & Engineering, said the experience gives students invaluable exposure to collaborative software development, analytical thinking and strategic decision-making — skills critical for success in both academic and professional settings.

“Participating in competitions like this is a great way for our students to test their skills against peers in a time-pressured environment, not unlike a future work environment when they are trying to deliver a superior software project on a deadline. The third-place finish by the Husky Coders was a great showing for HCU, especially considering that our students participating are not very far along in their degrees (third semester at most). I look forward to seeing how they perform next year,” said Dr. Evans.

Two additional teams proudly represented HCU in the recent regional competition. Alt+Ctrl+Elite, featuring Joelle Kabar, Julia Tsai, and Kenzie Quach, finished 12th overall and The Nail Byters, represented by Frederick Ansong, Reshab Reddy, and Sophie Hudziets, earned 19th place in the standings.

Dr. Wail Mardini, HCU Associate Professor of Computer Science, commended each team for “showing remarkable problem-solving ability, persistence and teamwork under pressure.”

“Most of our students who participated this year are still freshmen and sophomores, yet they demonstrated impressive progress and competitiveness among teams from much larger universities. With more practice and experience, I am confident they can achieve even higher rankings in the future,” said Dr. Mardini.

HCU congratulates all participants for their hard work, dedication and outstanding representation of the University in the competition.

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About Houston Christian University

For more than 60 years, Houston Christian University has equipped students to lead, collaborate, and embody a deep sense of spiritual purpose. The University offers a wide range of majors, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs, as well as NCAA Division I athletics in the Southland Conference. Located in the heart of one of the nation’s largest metropolitan centers, HCU’s culture of excellence molds the next generation of educated disciples to be pillars in their communities, preparing them to think critically and biblically as they impact the world.