Embry-Riddle’s National Society of Black Engineers

Jessie Abinsay Correspondent

The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is one of the largest student-governed organizations based in the United States. Founded in 1975, NSBE strives to support and promote the aspirations of collegiate and precollegiate students and technical professions in engineering and technology. NSBE envisions a world in which engineering is a mainstream word in homes and communities of color, and to exceed parity in entering engineering fields, earning degrees, and succeeding professionally. With more than 600 chapters and more than 24,000 active members in the U.S. and abroad.

The National Society of Black Engineers has its own chapter at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which involves a community of African American and other minority ethnic groups, with 45 active members just from the Fall 2022 semester, statistically growing every semester.

Aiming to cover all aspects of the mission, for our members, to “excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.” Creating an environment where student engineers can advance their professional and academic skills was proven through the events hosted during the Fall 2022 semester.

The organization has a vast involvement with many special guest speakers and large companies. In Fall 2022, NSBE had the opportunity to exclusively host a Textron Informational Panel, a Collins Aerospace General Body Meeting, a special guest speaker from Boeing, an “Apply–A–Thon” with

Collins Aerospace, and a special guest speaker from Cadence Design Systems.

Introducing their major presence to NSBE’s first fully in-person Fall Regional Conference under NSBE Region III

“POW3RHOUSE,” Embry-Riddle’s NSBE Chapter was able register 33 members to the conference taking place in Atlanta, Georgia in early November. The regional conference involved many professional workshops, various special guest speakers, an academic bowl, career fair, and more. The chapter even got a unique opportunity to network with Collins Aerospace themselves.

Members enjoyed the views of downtown Atlanta while speaking all things engineering. At the career fair, members were able to participate in networking and seek out many opportunities. Students were able to receive on-the-spot interviews, and notably 2 members received Co-Op offers from Collins Aerospace alone.

Speaking of conferences, ERAU’s chapter attended NSBE’s Annual Convention in Spring 2022. This was an event for all chapters to come together for a national conference, and was held in Anaheim, California. There, NSBE’s ERAU chapter was able to attend with 11 members and resulted in an astounding 81% of attendees receiving offers from several large companies including Boeing.

ERAU’s on-campus chapter was also able to support many social events during the 2022 calendar year. They coordinated with many other Registered Student Organizations on different events. These included a Kennedy Space Center tour with the Experimental Rocket Propulsion Lab (ERPL), a movie night to watch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with other ERAU African American organizations (BSA, ASA, OBAP) and at the beginning of the Fall 2022 semester, NSBE and ASA collaborated to start off the semester with a barbeque event.

NSBE leaders were also able to represent ERAU at a Diversity and Inclusion Roundtable session during Boeing Week. In closing, there are many additional events outside of the general body meetings that NSBE supports, such as the NSBE Halloween event.

Other regularly occurring events to fulfill NSBE’s mission include monthly volunteering events to positively impact the community, numerous professional/technical workshops and an alumni panel, to help students excel academically with weekly study sessions.

Additionally, a mentorship program in coordination with Mainland High School was spearheaded to provide mentorship opportunities within the chapter. Lastly, the organization is hoping to bring hands-on engineering projects for the general body by the spring semester.

The National Society of Black Engineers is a welcoming organization that can lend a home to any majors. Their general meetings are every Wednesday at 6:00pm in COAS 206. For any updates be sure to follow their Instagram, @erau nsbe.