NSBE - Convention 2020 - 57

THE PROFESSIONAL'S PERSPECTIVE

Being That Change Agent
By Julius Hudson, 2019-20 National NSBE Professionals Chair
"Change is inevitable and necessary. We cannot expect improvements in students' outcomes if we do not initiate change in our
practices." - Chris Weber

he National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
Professionals leadership set out to raise the organization to a new level using the blueprints passed on to
us by our leadership of the past. We did this by centering all goals and activity on the Society's mission and vision
as well as on NSBE's directives for the year.
By utilizing the Professionals Vision set for 2019-20,
C.P.R. was introduced: continuing the Path set by previous
leadership, we were able to build on their achievements. We
are positioned to drive and develop partnerships with our
membership and extend our reach to external corporate,
government and nonprofit partners. In addition, by focusing
on innovation but not reinventing the wheel, we introduced

and established repeatable processes, not only in our document
control space but also in programs development, financial
management, membership expansion and more. This vision
also facilitated the development of a five-year Strategic Plan for
NSBE Professionals that includes benchmarks at one year, two
to three years and five years. This plan allowed for continuity
in leadership and a focus on achievable goals.
NSBE is working purposefully to increase the number of
Black Engineers, promote academic excellence in our membership and make a positive impact on our communities. As
professionals within an organization that is uniquely designed
to be a change agent for Black college students interested in
and actively pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), it is often a challenge
to find the most effective way to "Engineer the Technical
Revolution." When we have success in mentoring our youth,
providing opportunities for our members to work in industry
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and supporting our members
through programs and scholarships, we often get comfortable.
Our comfort then unknowingly
becomes complacency, which
oftentimes leads to doing things
the same way they were done in
the past.
Clay Shirky states that,
"Revolution doesn't happen when
society adopts new technologies.
It happens when society adopts
behaviors." To reach NSBE's "10K
Goal" of leading the U.S. to graduate 10,000 new Black Engineers annually by 2025, we must
be intentional in our approach and change any "status quo"
thinking. It is no longer enough just to raise funds and provide
scholarship opportunities but then have
a shortage of students applying for the
grants. It is no longer enough to develop
fantastic programs for our NSBE Jr.
demographic but then have difficulties
getting students out to participate and
benefit from them.
To be that change agent and really
"Engineer the Technical Revolution," we
need to do more. NSBE Professionals
can work to have a presence in the
school districts of our major cities,
partnering with them on curriculum
and training opportunities; entering
partnerships with local and national
technical and non-technical organizations that have missions similar to NSBE's; and creating
opportunities for youth in local churches and being present in
those programs, on-site.
Hosting events with zero or low attendance can sometimes
be worse than not having an event at all. We must consider
going the extra mile and going to the people we serve. Continue
to knock on those doors at our "A Walk for Education"
events. Return to setting up NSBE Technical OutReach and
Community Help (TORCH) centers in our communities to provide supplemental educational options for students and parents.
Let's look to bring NSBE Summer Engineering Experience
for Kids (SEEK) programs to school districts as a part of their
summer curriculum. Let's work on creative ways to bring our
technical employers to the students instead of always trying
to bring the students to the employers. Let's look for ways to
do things differently to "Engineer the Technical Revolution,"
because this one will be televised. ■
* CAREER ENGINEER * CONVENTION 2020 * 57

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NSBE - Convention 2020

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