Many who enter college search for a community. However, some feel hesitant to join a club or organization because of the limitation of their social circle and the fear of the unknown, potentially missing out on something that could shape the rest of their lives.
Liyah Goode, senior in architectural engineering and program chair at the National Society of Black Engineers, said before she joined the society her freshman year, she considered herself a loner.
“It’s a community for me,” Goode said. “I feel like … my freshman year, this is what made me feel comfortable, what made me feel accepted. … I feel like I met a lot of people and they’re so very accepting here, and I just love and appreciate it.”
Goode said the society is “all about embracing blackness in the engineering field” and bringing the community together. The recent Tech Bowl hosted by NSBE on April 25 provided an opportunity to open up a national event for all engineers at Kansas State.
“For it to come to K-State, we were just thinking, ‘Why can’t we just open it to the whole School of Engineering instead of just the National Society of Black Engineers?’” Goode said. “We wanted to get our name out there, especially with having a sponsor from Foot Locker.”
Several students participated in the Tech Bowl, with the prize of Foot Locker merchandise and gift cards. The event was played in a Jeopardy-style format, asking engineering questions and discussing topics ranging from ethics to mathematics.
Abdulla Mansoor, senior in political science, said he attended at the recommendation of his friend. Before the event began, Mansoor said he and his team, “Cooked,” had a good chance at winning.
“I have good teammates with a lot of diverse majors — two engineering majors and a biology major, and we got an economics [major], so we will win today, of course,” Mansoor said.
Team “Cooked” finished last out of the four teams, scoring a total of -1,100 points. The top three teams were “The Baddies” with 2,200 points, “SWIRLIES” with 3,000 points and “SHPE + Ben” taking first place with 3,800 points.
NBSE’s vice president, Tamia McClunie, said the event was a great success, and she, along with the society’s president, Obi Oligbo, believed the event had achieved the goals they aimed for.
“The Academic Tech Bowl is an event that we have at all of our conferences, regionally and internationally,” McClunie, senior in chemical engineering, said. “So it’s a competition that a lot of schools will sign up for, and they compete, and then the winners will receive different prizes, ranging from different company sponsors. So we really thought it was a really good event that we have at conference, but not everyone gets to go to conference.”
McClunie participated in the event, joining team SWIRLIES, while Oligbo, senior in electrical engineering, ensured everything ran smoothly.
Oligbo said the society played a significant role in his K-State career. He said it not only helped him grow academically, but also professionally.
“I’ve been able to connect with other students on campus and other engineering students that have a similar drive as me to be successful,” Oligbo said. “We really promote excellence in their academic careers and their professional careers, so NSBE has allowed me to take on leadership roles — I’ve been president for two years and vice president before that. I learned a lot about myself in leadership, and I have learned a lot of skills that will transition into the workplace. They’ve already allowed me to move up into different positions, internships, things like that because they have seen leadership experience through what I’ve done with NSBE.”
