UA Ntnl Society of Black Engineers

2.18.2011

Members of the National Society of Black Engineers met Thursday to discuss semester goals, NSBE national conference and service projects.

NSBE President Ben Onukwube takes pride in his organization and offered words of encouragement.

“People don’t care what you know until they know you care. I’m here to tell you that I care,” he said. “If you feel like you can’t come to your teachers, to your class, to your job, come to us. Let us help you.

“We’re here for you. I hate to see people drop out of engineering without talking to anyone about it. If you’re having trouble, talk to us first.”

Most of all, Onukwube counted his success on the strength of NSBE.

“Thanks for being a part of (NSBE)…keeping me on (my toes),” he said.

The main goal for Spring 2011 is to increase group involvement in NSBE events.

“We have lots of work to do. This group is good at showing up for free food on Tuesdays, but we need more involvement in the events,” he said. “The college has taken an interest in NSBE (so you should too.)”

Onukwube brought attention to the volume of members graduating this May and called for recruitment of freshmen and sophomores for leadership roles.

“Think of how you can contribute (to NSBE,)” he said. “Can you help us get sponsorships? How can I keep it going? How can NSBE make a bigger impact?”

Last semester, NSBE placed second in the campus-wide Canned Food Drive for the new, U of A campus food pantry.

“I was blown away by our response…I’m very impressed,” Onukwube said. “We came in second place, at 248 points. That’s saying a lot, since first place was ASG and RIC combined, which came in at 400 points—about $1/person.

Larger organizations on campus placed lower in the competition, showing a compelling work ethic in NSBE members.

National Conference 2011

This year’s NSBE National Conference will take place March 23-27 in St. Louis, Mo., during Spring Break. http://www.nsbe.org/Convention/Overview.aspx

Onukwube highly suggests the national conference, presenting its only consequence as the amount of time for transportation—something that can’t be outweighed by the benefit of the NSBE conference job fair.

NSBE Adviser, Professor Thomas Carter said housing and transportation will be provided for students, leaving only a registration cost.

All NBSE officers need to know is how many students are attending.

“We need to know by February 28 if you’re going,” Onukwube said. “Don’t come to me on March 2, when Panama (plans) didn’t work out and need me to sign you up.”

“In our last conference to New Orleans, we took 19 people, which was almost 5 times more than last year,” he said.

Community

NSBE members will volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club every 2-3 weeks to help with homework, play video games and other games with them.

“This is an opportunity for encouraging African American Higher Education. Please send me your opinions on this,” Onukwube said.

Resume Book

President Onukwube needs all NSBE members to send a copy of their resume to him as soon as possible.

As a career-centered RSO, NSBE is a crucial networking link in the Northwest Arkansas community.

“What good is NSBE without getting each other jobs? We’re resources to each other,” Onukwube said.

Students can do two big things to help each other excel: help each other in classes of their own strengths and form a database of resumes for availability at any job opportunities.

“You all printed off resumes for EXPO and I’ve been asking (for them)since…September. (So when) Walmart called me looking for three industrial engineers, I didn’t have enough to give them,” he said. “Please send your resumes to me!”

In Other News

NSBE members are invited to attend a free practice GRE test at 10 a.m. tomorrow, February 19, in the Mechanical Engineering Building, provided by Kaplan.

Members should pay national dues on the official site, http://nsbe.org/ via cash or check to Triest.

The next UA-NSBE meeting will be March 15.

Mission: To increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.