NSBE - Convention 2020 - 49

Jr. Chapter of the Year honors, which were announced at the 45th NSBE Annual Convention, in
Detroit. Longtime Chapter Advisor Kecia O'Neal
was completely taken off guard when the award
was announced. It was her first time alone at a
NSBE convention without any of her students: last
year most of the chapter's members were seniors,
and when they graduated, it wiped out chapter
funds for travel. So when she reported to the
Brooklyn Tech NSBE Jr. students that the chapter
had won, they were as shocked as she was.
"Coming back with the award made their day,"
says O'Neal, who adds that the chapter is growing
again.

'ANOTHER FAMILY'
The NSBE Jr. program has 242 chapters in the
U.S. and abroad and is growing in numbers and
influence. The Brooklyn Tech NSBE Jr. Chapter
started almost two decades ago, and Chapter
Advisor O'Neal has been leading the organization for 14 years. She says that Brooklyn Tech
NSBE Jr.'s success is due to teamwork, accountability and leadership. She meets on Thursday
with the general body members, and the Chapter
Executive Board checks in with her on a daily
basis. Grades are monitored, and if a chapter
member is doing poorly, improved academics are required for continued membership.
Professionalism - knowing how to act, dress and
behave in a career setting - is emphasized, as the
chapter holds a professional workshop week that
includes resume review, elevator pitch practice,
interviewing skills training and tips on proper
attire and etiquette.
"When I first joined NSBE, I barely even knew
what a resume was, yet now I know how to present myself professionally," says Iyana McGirt,
president emeritus of the chapter. The chapter
also visits employer and collegiate sites, such as
Stevens Institute of Technology, Avanade and
other organizations where they are exposed to
engineers in action.
"NSBE at Brooklyn Tech gave me the opportunity to travel and connect with so many
different people within STEM and helped me
solidify my own future career path," says former
Brooklyn Tech student Aaron Loftman, who is
now studying construction management at Drexel
University, in Philadelphia. He joined the NSBE
chapter during his freshman year at Brooklyn
Tech and now says that was one of the best
choices of his life.
A walk through Brooklyn Technical High
School's first floor hallway reveals an alumni
www.nsbe.org

Hall of Fame, reminding students of the school's
lauded history and high expectation of success. It's a tough standard to meet, but thanks
to Brooklyn Tech NSBE Jr., more students are
rising to that bar. Says McGirt: "What NSBE has
done for me is unexplainable." In her freshman
year, she was quiet and unsure of herself in the

"NSBE at Brooklyn Tech gave me the
opportunity to travel and connect with so
many different people within STEM and helped
me solidify my own future career path."
- Aaron Loftman, Construction Management
Undergraduate, Drexel University
large school. "Let me explain: I'm a minority in a
specialized high school of approximately 6,000
students...." says McGirt. But joining NSBE led her
to new friendships and a school family. "I truly
feel that we are ready to take on the world ahead
of us with NSBE at our side," she says.
Luis Ixcamparij, a sophomore at Brooklyn Tech
who is the current president of the NSBE chapter,
summed it up.
"I look forward to being a part of NSBE for
many years to come. To me, joining NSBE was
like joining another family," he says. "NSBE is the
definition of a society, a great one. ONE FIYAH,
MORE FIYAH!!!!" ■
Cindy Atoji is a Boston-based blogger and editor
who specializes in diversity issues and technology
writing.

| CONVENTION 2020 | 49

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