USU students establish first NSBE chapter in Utah
A group of students began a chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) at Utah State University, the first of its kind in Utah, and valuable asset to the College of Engineering, said Pedro Mateo, senior in mechanical and aerospace engineering and president of the USU chapter of NSBE.
Olalekan Olorunsola, senior in civil engineering and member of NSBE, said, “We are called the National Society of Black Engineers. The mission of NSBE is ‘to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community,'” he said in reference to the organization’s mission statement.
The chapter was opened by a group of dedicated engineers earlier this fall who wanted to join the national organization in hopes of gaining recognition and becoming more marketable to prospective employers, Mateo said.
“We started the chapter in October – we didn’t realize that we were the only chapter in Utah. When we are the only black student out of 90 in a class, it’s good to have that support, because that feeling of loneliness is making a field that is hard even harder,” he said.
NSBE is spread throughout the world with members in Jamaica and a chapter in Ghana, Olorunsola said.
The goal of the organization is to assist minorities in the field of engineering, and with one of the biggest memberships of any student organization, it’s easy to find support, Olorunsola said.
“We have the largest student body of any national student society in the world. With more than 30,000 members, we are one of the largest student-managed organizations,” he said.
Mateo said one of the benefits the organization gives to students is the social group that is formed through the chapter.
“It’s important to network and have support because we are the smallest minority on campus,” he said.
Recently the College of Engineering helped fund a trip for the group to go to Las Vegas for a convention with other black engineers, Mateo said.
The conference was hosted at the Las Vegas Convention Center March 24 and had many different companies recruiting students, Olorunsola said. The conference consisted of key speakers and served as a place for different chapters of NSBE to associate with one another, he said.
“At the convention we had the United States Navy and CEOs from different companies that sponsored the event. There were people there from United Technology, Google, Chevron, Apple, everyone was there,” Olorunsola said.
The group had 13 of its 23 members attend the conference in May with one student receiving multiple job offers, Mateo said.
“We went to the convention to learn about promoting opportunities, to find funding, internships and find jobs. What we took from the conference was knowing what fields are marketable. They also told you to graduate and train for green economy, so you are ready for the market,” Olorunsola said.
The conference helped to make the transition easy from college to grad school, Olorunsola said. The conference opened career paths for many members of the NSBE, he said.
Mateo said he hopes to attend the regional conference, which is to be held in California during the summer.
“The working opportunities that we will have from these conventions that we didn’t have before will help us to be outstanding and successful students,” he said.
–beck.turner@aggiemail.usu.edu