National Society of Black Engineers Chapter Receives Top Honor
Cal Poly's NSBE chapter kept up programming and events for members during a difficult year.
A live Q&A with astronaut Victor Glover in space was one of several highlights that helped Cal Poly’s National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) earn recognition as Small National Chapter of the Year.
The recognition was relayed by NSBE’s national executive board, which wrote, “This has not been an easy year, but the programming and events held by your chapter demonstrate true resilience in the face of adversity.”
The small chapter award goes to those with 25 or fewer members. Cal Poly’s chapter was also recently recognized as the regional chapter of the year for a third consecutive time.
The Cal Poly chapter was established in 1974 to support minority STEM students, both academically and professionally. The club offers mentorships, career fairs, guest speakers and social events.
NSBE also provides help with professional development, résumé writing and establishing useful career connections. Club President Amman Asfaw, an electrical engineering graduate student from Thousand Oaks, California, recently accepted a job offer that came through a Cal Poly NSBE alumnus.
As president, Asfaw has researched the club’s history while working to build the club’s brand so that future students will benefit from it.
“We want to ignite the flame in future culturally responsible engineers,” he said. “Then, once that flame is ignited, we want to make sure they can light other people’s flames and pass on the torch.”
Note: photo taken pre-pandemic.