NSBE - Convention 2020 - 19

University of Texas at San Antonio
Medium Chapter of the Year

D

espite stellar programming - study nights for members;
a retention program among chapter members and graduates; alumni and professional mixers; and community
involvement - UT San Antonio's selection as the Medium
Chapter of the Year came as a pleasant surprise.
"My Chapter Executive Board and I worked really hard,
and we made sure we recorded it and shared it with the NSBE
world," says 2018-19 Chapter President Osasu Ewansiha.
"But, when I filled out the application for Chapter of the Year,

it wasn't because I had an inkling that we would win over big
schools like UT or A&M but because I felt like we deserved to
win."
Ewansiha, a 24-year-old, Houston-born civil engineering
major in her last year, added: "We might be a small chapter, but
we get things done, and we do it by being there for one another.
I know NSBE is about securing the bag and getting lifetime
opportunities, but it's also about creating lifelong relationships
with people who understand your struggle." ■

"I think my chapter thrives
on creating a family
environment and safe
space for our members."
- Ralinkae Kane-Jackson,
UMCP NSBE

University of Maryland, College Park
Large Chapter of the Year

T

he sense of family that connects
chapter members in Long Beach
and San Antonio also hovers
over the sprawling UM campus in
College Park.
"I think my chapter thrives on creating a family environment and safe
space for our members," says Ralinkae
Kane-Jackson, 22, a senior electrical
engineering major from Baltimore. "We
understand that being a minority at a
PWI (predominantly white institution)
is already hard, but being a minority in
a PWI engineering program is twice as
hard."

The glue that keeps this "family"
together is a robust slate of programs.
"Last year, I actively worked as chapter president to steer us toward professional development, as I felt this had
lessened in previous years," says Favour
Nerrise Njunkeng, 20, a senior computer
science and mathematics major. "So, we
had more than 30 events with various
companies and partnering organizations,
hosted our second annual Hack-a-Thon
event that included professional development and coding workshops, hosted
a campus-wide engineering event with
Bechtel Corporation and collaborated in

multiple partnered events with non-engineering student organizations like our
Black Alliance Network Organizations
and the Divine Nine organizations."
Bilen Tirfe, 2019-20 chapter president, came into office with a plan to go
above and beyond the "basic duties as
E-board members."
"This year, I'd like for our chapter to
interface more with NSBE Professionals,
so we can retain our upperclassmen and
also give them the mentorship that they
need going into postgraduate life," says
the 22-year-old mechanical engineering
senior from Silver Spring, Maryland. ■

Kevin M. Briscoe is a writer based in St. Augustine, Florida, and a former editor of NSBE Magazine.
www.nsbe.org

NSBE MAGAZINE * CONVENTION 2020

* 19
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NSBE - Convention 2020

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