National Society of Black Engineers Jr. Chapter

2009-2010 Patriots NSBE’s Jr. Chapter 3238
Executive Board Officers

President                                                 Malcolm Ryant

Vice-President                                         Deborah Goddard

Secretary                                                Bryan Royster

Treasurer                                                Barrett Sanders, Jr.

Parliamentarian                                      Maryam L. El-Amin

Membership Chair                                   Vishnu Rachankonda

Advisor                                                    Gloria Shivers

The Parent Committee
Joyce Pruitt and Mamie Ryant co-chairs

PATRO-TECH SCIENCE CLUB /PATRIOTS JUNIOR CHAPTER, NATIONAL SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS

General information:  Students joining the Patro-Tech Science Club become Patriots members and qualify for several important services.  All students from 5th through 12th grades are eligible. 

Patriots has its own Junior Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE Jr.).  The NSBE Jr. Chapter offers important advantages for future engineers and scientists. There are monthly workshop meetings with guest presenters, competitions, out-of-town conferences, college fairs, and a Lego and robotics team.  In general, the program is college-oriented, helping students to understand what different science and technology fields involve, to plan for college and careers in one of these fields, and to get excited about the possibilities. As a member, students will receive a quarterly magazine call NSBE BRIDGE. The Bridge will have information on SAT/ACT, college admission, preparation assistance, scholarships, Science fair, mentoring, tutoring and much more.  Students can also download $3500 worth of software from Microsoft (please go to NSBE website for further information.)

Program:
Workshop meetings:  Workshop meetings on held on every 3rd Saturday at the Kenmoor Middle School in Landover, Maryland from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. There is a workshop curriculum for each meeting with a choice of tutorial, career, and life skills workshops.  Some of the workshops are:

• Forensics
• Video Games/Flash Animation
• Lego Competition
• Programming
• Teen Engineering Design
• Making Beats/Fundaments of Recording
• Computer Building
• Life Skills

Competitions and Conferences:

• We like to enter teams in the annual Try-Math-A-Lon, Teen Engineering Design and the Science Fair competitions.  It’s a great opportunity for students who are good in math and science and want to test their skills.

• There are three NSBE conferences each year that the Junior members are eligible to attend. The National Conference (Las Vegas 2009) is a great learning opportunity and the best chance to meet black engineering professionals.  There are also Summer and Fall conferences. 
• We take a group each year to the Black Engineer of the Year Award Conference in Baltimore, where the students can meet professional engineers and learn more about engineering careers. 

College Fairs:  We encourage members to attend College Fairs, currently including those organized by the National Council of Negro Women and McDonalds College Expo.  There is also a recruitment fair organized by the Government’s intelligence agencies.  The intelligence agencies pay some students’ college tuition in exchange for career service after graduation. 

Robotics Team:  The NSBE Jr. Chapter has its own robotics team!  See separate page for information on its activities and how to join.

Business and Government support:  NSBE activities receive support from a wide range of government and corporate sponsors such as Bank of America, NAVSEA, NAVY, DOD, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, IBM, BAE Systems, Booz Allen and Hamilton, National Institute of Health, Department of Justice, Mitre, PEPCO, Microsoft, and Army and from many individual volunteers.  Patriots is seeking external support for expanding the program to incorporate a comprehensive pre-college assistance program.

Fees:   Annual membership fee is $40.
........... Membership fee will be pro-rated for students joining later in ........... the academic year.
........... Try-Math-A-Lon is free
........... Black Engineer of the Year awards conference is $25.  
........... Summer and fall conferences cost about $180 (all costs).
........... National conference costs about $500 (all costs).
........... College fairs are free.