2013 Convention - (Page 22)

SEEK 2013 UpdatE! N “…I felt last year was our tipping point for the program’s renown. Now, we want to move full speed ahead to offer SEEK to as many students as we can across the country.” — SEEK Director Franklin O. Moore 22 • nsbe magazine • convention 2013 SBE’s Summer Engineering Experience for Kids Academy (SEEK) is rolling quickly toward its seventh year, and, from all appearances, the program is gaining momentum as it goes. SEEK is a precollege program founded in 2007 by NSBE Executive Director Carl B. Mack and Franklin O. Moore, now the SEEK director. It engages underrepresented minority students in hands-on, team-based engineering design projects to increase their knowledge and raise their comfort level with science, technology, engineering and math. SEEK’s ultimate goal is to fill the pipeline to engineering careers with greater numbers of these students, from kindergarten through 12th grade. SEEK was founded with a $1-million grant from Battelle Foundation and a curriculum provided by NSBE’s longtime partner in the program, SAE International (the Society of Automotive Engineers). Reporting from NSBE’s World Headquarters in Alexandria, Moore tells NSBE Bridge that he’s, well, ecstatic about how things are going. “I am ecstatic about the progress,” he says. “I’ve attended every SEEK camp since 2007, and I felt last year was the tipping point for the program’s renown. Now, we want to move full speed ahead to offer SEEK to as many students as we can across the country.” The progress Moore refers to includes five tentative new locations — Atlanta, Ga., Brooklyn, N.Y., Denver, Colo., Jackson, Miss., and Philadelphia, Pa; unprecedented funding from organizations such as Chevron Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, GE, Northrop Grumman Corporation and the Office of Naval Research; an expanded curriculum for the students; and a new, more efficient selection process for the “SEEK mentors,” NSBE collegiate members from across the country who teach the pre-college students and guide them through the engineering activities. This year, all participants in SEEK will have the opportunity to “go green” by customizing miniature solar cars, courtesy of San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), explains SEEK Coordinator Quiana Piggee. In 2012, SDG&E’s president and chief operating officer asked two NSBE members who work at the company to provide a solar car curriculum for the San Diego SEEK Academy. “The kids really enjoyed it in San Diego (last year), and that’s why NSBE has decided to use it nationwide,” in addition to the SAE design projects, Piggee says. SEEK Manager Sharifa Vinson reports that NSBE is well ahead of last year’s schedule in recruiting mentors for the program. All SEEK mentors received performance reviews for the first time in 2012, and NSBE has asked many of them to return for 2013. Also, NSBE’s SEEK Department began soliciting new mentors early, by reaching out to NSBE chapters, as well as colleges and universities, that are in or near the SEEK host cities. The recruitment will continue at the 2013 Annual Convention in Indianapolis, Ind., with a SEEK try-out and information session, and on-site interviews of prospective mentors. NSBE is looking for “a set of core competencies” in the mentors it hires, Vinson says, “things like a strong work ethic, and the ability to be a team player, create a fun and enjoyable environment for the kids, and give and receive effective criticism and discipline. People with those types of characteristics make the best SEEK mentors, from what we have found.” In addition to the new locations mentioned above, SEEK Academies are being planned this year for Detroit, Mich.; Houston, Texas; New Orleans, La.; Oakland and San Diego, Calif.; and Washington, D.C. For more information about SEEK 2013, or to register, visit www.nsbe.org. ■ www.nsbe.org http://www.nsbe.org http://www.nsbe.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2013 Convention

2013 Convention
Contents
Your 4.0…Guaranteed!
My Academic Comeback
THE PROGRAMS ZONE
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Inga Brathwaite: Empowered at Toyota
Jerome Brown: Stoking the Engines at Aerojet
Christina Barker: On Track at PGW
Leveling Up
SEEK 2013 Update!
Back to Indiana
NSBE Calendar
Honoring Our Past, Driving Our Community Forward
Passing the Golden Torch
The Professional’s Perspective
Trailblazers
Petroleum Engineering Digs Deep for Talent
Employer Profiles
Celebrating Academic Excellence
Advertisers Index

2013 Convention

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