NSBE California Conference: An Opportunity for Young Engineers

Story and Photo by Jakari Powell.

The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE and NSBE Jr.) is a student-governed organization that supports the hopes and ambitions of Collegiate students interested in the STEM field. As future engineers, learning from experienced NSBE engineers could greatly help our future endeavors. This is why our Friendship Collegiate Academy robotics team, the Roboknights, went on a trip across the country to Anaheim, California. Anaheim was the location of the 2022 NSBE Conference, held by and for young colored engineers from all over the world. This conference was held in order to inspire young black engineers to innovate tons of life-changing technologies, furthering society and societal standards. This is the vision, this is the future.

In order to create this future we were given the opportunity to participate in several workshops, one of which was “Beats Unlocked", the first workshop we attended. There we learned how coding and beat-making were connected to one another. Shortly after arriving in the workshop room, we were asked, “How could coding possibly relate to making beats?” A handful of us gave our answers. Although the answer to the question was never verbally given, we were taught how to code a beat. This showed us similarities between the two, further allowing us to understand how to combine our interests.

The overall goal for this conference was to have young engineers experience different professions in order to spark our imaginations.

Jakari Powell is a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.