Ladies of NSBE UMCP Chapter, 2012

I am so very excited to be telling you all that I’m going to the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Annual Convention on Wednesday! This will be my last convention as a University of Pittsburgh representative and graduate student. What better way to end my time than to go to Anaheim, CA! As I did last year, I will be covering the event each day with blogs/vlogs. Can’t wait!

My experience with NSBE
NSBE is very important to me because it single-handedly shaped my path towards a STEM career. I joined NSBE in my junior year of college to motivate me to stay in computer science. Needless to say, it didn’t work and I switched to studying psychology; but, I kept interacting with NSBE. All of my friends were engineers and they were so encouraging about my computer studies, so it remained in my mind. During the summer of 2011, I worked with the NSBE Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) DC as a mentor, teaching math and physics concepts through weekly engineering projects and competitions. This was an eye-opening experience for me, showing how NSBE could be a strong STEM influence in an underrepresented child’s life. Even the Executive Director came and moved me about black excellence in STEM through pipelines and consistent support from school to career. Not to mention, the camp was free for kids; all you needed was guardian attendance at orientation! I was inspired to be more involved with my chapter’s pre-collegiate initiatives (PCI) and focused on a STEM career path. In my senior year, I would help  with Technical Outreach Community Help (TORCH) events and interacted with the NSBE Jr. chapter at my high school, Eleanor Roosevelt. I started taking my technology-related psychology courses.

I also started traveling with the UMCP chapter to Region 2 conferences and annual conventions. My first conference was in Baltimore where I met an iSchool recruiter during the college/job fair. This was when I knew where I wanted to go to graduate school. I was also in awe to meet so many STEM students from underrepresented populations. I felt proud and drawn toward success with each workshop and meeting I attended. From there, I went to Pittsburgh for Annual Convention 2012 and had a blast. Then, I went to Fall Regional Conference in Norfolk, VA. Here, I was randomly selected to speak at the closing ceremony about what NSBE has done for me (kinda like what I’m doing right now). I was so nervous and shaky, I didn’t even read what I wrote on the paper. I was also fangirling because I got to meet the Region 2 president and I thought he was amazing; he was very well put together, well-spoken, wasn’t afraid to take risks, was very down-to-earth, and everything I strived to be. Anyway… I apparently gave an inspirational speech; a friend almost shed a tear haha. But, the best part was that a computer science instructor from North Carolina A&T approached me about wanting me in their CS grad school. It really showed me that I was not forgotten and NSBE, and all the people in it, had my back. They knew I was going to make it in STEM.

Fast forward, I got into Pitt with a scholarship that allowed me to recruit at NSBE events. At last year’s annual convention in Nashville, my supervisor, Shabana Reza, got me to talk to some companies at the college/career fair. I ended up interviewing with Accenture and got my FIRST technical internship eeeeevvveeeeerrrr. So, when I say that NSBE molded who I am today, THEY REALLY DID. Now, I’m getting ready to make the transition to a Technical Professional in NSBE. The involvement never stops and my passion for increasing and maintaining the number of underrepresented in STEM students/professionals gets stronger. NSBE (and the iSchool) changed my life; it’s time to return the favor.


The mission of the National Society of Black Engineers is “to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.”