NSBE - March/April 2008 - (Page 9)

From the NationalChair the Flame of change By Darryl Athos Dickerson NSBE National Chair t us be pioneers, like the 48 he NSBE torch was built and lit back in 1975, students who created this when 48 pioneers from all over the nation acted organization. We have the on faith. These exceptional individuals drove tools and the talent to reshape through Klan-infested pockets of the United States the landscape of the technical to meet at Purdue University. They made the efforts of many world and the global commujoin under one banner, giving birth to a national organization nity. Let us be engineers in acat the first national conference, creating the National Society tion, and bring forth technical of Black Engineers. These brave souls built a framework from and cultural revolution. ■ very raw materials to develop a support network that could help cure the ills of poor achievement and poor retention of blacks in engineering. They saw a community and a cultural problem and “…The torch cannot simply light the used their analytical skills to solve that probtoo far from achieving our mission. lem: the very essence of engineering in action. When those 48 individuals dispersed, they the torch to do more.” each carried a torch to their home universities, sharing the warmth of that flame. Since that time, the passion represented by the flame has burned ever so resiliently and has reached all corners of the world. But today, the torch cannot simply light the way, as we are too far from achieving our mission. We must use the torch to do more. Blacks are still underrepresented in the engineering field. Yet, too few blacks are pursuing engineering degrees. In fact, that number has been declining over the last six years in the U.S. Of those black students who do join the chase as engineering majors, less than 60 percent actually attain engineering degrees. And this nation’s black students, as a group, still lag behind whites and Asians in academic achievement, as measured by grades and standardized test scores. Many of our International members struggle against ethnic and gender discrimination, a daunting lack of academic resources and poor employment prospects. Further, most technology is still not driven by the innovation of blacks, and, as a result, the needs of our communities are not adequately met by that technology. Let’s use the flame of our torch with the precision of a blowtorch. Let’s use the power of that robust and well-controlled flame to burn away the barriers to mission fulfillment. Let way, as we are We must use www.nsbe.org • march/april 2008 • 9 http://hst.mit.edu http://hst.mit.edu http://www.nsbe.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NSBE - March/April 2008

NSBE - March/April 2008
Contents
The Flame of Change
What Is Your Smile Saying?
International News: Telecom Training In Nigeria
Get Involved, Get International!
NSBE International, History in Brief
Truth Power!
Is Government Work for You?
Partners for Positive Impact
Regional News: Region III Economic Overview
GM Flexes Its Green
NSBE Calendar
Hot…Not
A Well-Deserved Break
Goodness Ikeri of Caterpillar
Tonya Erwin of Toyota
Albert Rodriques of Lehman Brothers
Igniting the Torch
Finding Career Fair Success
The AE Niche
Working in Harm’s Way
Reality Check
AE Members on the Move
Advertisers Index

NSBE - March/April 2008