Update from NSBE Boston Leadership
Dear Valued NSBE Boston Partners,
In accordance with guidance and recommendations from both the CDC and Boston city officials to mitigate community spread of COVID-19, all NSBE Boston programs have moved to virtual platforms, until further notice.
The mission of NSBE Boston remains the same, which is to increase awareness, opportunities and access to STEM resources for Black students; and we need your support. We are doing everything within our control to minimize disruptions to our work and this page highlights how we are supporting the three levels of our membership during the pandemic.
Thanks to our corporate partners for their support: PTC offered Onshape free to K-12 students (Onshape is a web-based, computer-aided design (CAD) platform), Carrier & Vertex donated towards our laptop drive, and employees from EverQuote and Hubspot who participated in our virtual Youth STEM career initiatives.
We look forward to engaging with you virtually and encourage you to take care of yourselves and stay healthy.
Table of Contents
Programming Retrospective
In response, NSBE Boston Professionals held a virtual happy hour on April 4, 2020 to allow our members to speak about personal needs and ways that we can contribute to our local communities. Over 70 individuals were in attendance and the event was viewed on Zoom, Instagram and Facebook Live. This event resulted in a lively discussion that made it clear that there is a desire in our community to become actively involved in education and volunteer efforts within our community.
In addition to the virtual happy hour, we held a professional development meeting focused on Project Management skills and our upcoming training sessions that will prepare members for the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam.
Lastly, we held a virtual fitness bootcamp with JET Fitness to help keep our members engaged and provide an outlet to for members to workout and connect with each others virtually.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Please join our email list to stay informed on our upcoming events. click here
Resources
COVID-19 Overview (video)
We’ve worked with Dr. Sara Suliman, Instructor of Medicine, Immunobiologist to create a short video and narrative that can be shared throughout social media to educate our community about COVID-19 and methodologies to reduce the risk of transmission. Below is a short video on the virus, a more detailed guide can be found here
Children's Resources
Having a hard time explaining Coronavirus to young children? Here is a list of resources you can use to explain Coronavirus to young ones:
Coronavirus: How to Talk to Your Child
Child Friendly Explanation of Coronavirus
Just for Kids: A Comic Exploring the New Coronavirus
Want an opportunity to chat with a Scientist? Check out Skype A Scientist a program that connects families around the world with scientists. Ask for Dr Maru Colbert, a Professor of Chemical & Environmental Engineering and a NSBE Boston Member.
See the slide show below for additional Books, Apps & Toys for all age groups
Updated links to these items can be found here
Volunteer Opportunities
COVID-19 Task Force
We are creating a COVID task force that will help us in curating events that will allow us to to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community. We are looking to our members to provide insights on how we can best serve our members, Boston community, and medical industry. This is a 1-2 hour per week commitment that will cover items such as logistics for the MIT Ventilator challenge. Please contact president@nsbeboston.org if interested.
NSBE Jr. Presentations
We are looking for Professionals to co-host one hour ZOOM sessions with NSBE Jr. students. These discussions will cover a broad array of topics including professional, technical and life skills.
Here is an outline of what a typical, 1-hr Zoom Meeting will look like:
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5 mins – Introduction to NSBE
2 mins – Introduction to first speaker
25 mins – Speaker 1 Presentation with Q/A
2 mins – Introduction to second speaker
25 mins – Speaker 2 Presentation with Q/A
1 min – Wrap up
This is a one time commitment.
Please contact PCI@nbseboston.org if interested.
We Are VIBE (Volunteers Incorporating Black Excellence)
Volunteers Incorporating Black Excellence (VIBE) is an organization dedicated to creating volunteering experiences for those who identify with the African Diaspora or those that would like to volunteer alongside those that do.
They are currently holding a Community Calling Initiative with the Cambridge Community Center. Volunteers will be assigned senior residents that they can call and provide companionship to over the course of four weeks. This is a virtual volunteer opportunity, please subscribe to VIBE’s newsletter for additional volunteer opportunities.
Chapter Accomplishments
Thanks to the generosity of our members we were able to provide new laptops to Brockton students impacted by COVID-19 school closures. Our students needed these computers to finish out the school year. We thank each and everyone who donated.
If you would like to support NSBE Boston’s Youth STEM Initiatives, please contact Sherly Denis – PCI@nsbeboston.org
NSBE Boston’s Eno Akpan was featured on a panel discussion on WGBH’s Basic Black hosted by Callie Crossley. This discussion focused on the digital divide and what we can do today to ensure our students are set up for success. The recording can be found here.
Have an idea on how we can best serve our community?
Please leverage the form below to provide your insights
