N S B E
National Society of Black Engineers
National Society of Black Engineers has an overall mission "to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community."
NSBE became an official school club for Da Vinci Science in 2013 thanks to Anthony Stuart, the Engineering Lead of FIRST Robotics Competition Team 4201.
“When I first joined FRC it was apparent that I was the only African American on the team. I then realized that there were many African Americans at school that did not have much exposure to engineering. This led me to take initiative and start NSBE. I want to encourage young minority students to take an interest in engineering by exposing them to local engineers and by giving them information about scholarships that they can take advantage of.” –Anthony Stuart
This year NSBE has had guest speakers from
UCLA, JPL, SpaceX, and Google come in and
articulate their experiences as engineers. The purpose of these guest speakers was to build up a spark in NSBE’s members and try to advocate pursuing an engineering career.
NSBE also attended a Regional Conference at LMU at which the NSBE members participated in activities, such as timed math tests, to encourage becoming a “mathlete”. A panel of engineers was available for members to ask questions and interview them about what life is like being an engineer.
Sydne, a member of NSBE and Team 4201 said, “NSBE has solidified the fact that I want to be an engineer. I joined both NSBE and FRC at the same time and I’m glad I did. It has helped me see that there are many others interested in engineering. The encouragements I receive from others like me keep me inspired to follow my dreams and achieve my goals.”
Ammar, another member of NSBE and Team 4201, also described the impact joining NSBE has had on him. “I have seen and learned a lot from the guest speakers that we’ve had. It really has informed me of how real life engineers work, what it takes to be one, and all the things that an engineer can do. Being part of this club has made me think more seriously about college and what I want to do.”
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