BALTIMORE — The National Society of Black Engineers convention has come to Baltimore for the first time. Thousands of Black students and professionals in STEM have come to Charm City from all over the nation.
The convention officially kicks off Wednesday at the Baltimore Convention Center at six with a welcome reception and will last through Saturday evening.
For the past 50 years, NSBE has been a convention that brings together college students, professionals, and even K-12 STEM students to learn more about jobs and industry standards in their field.
Thousands of Black STEM students and professionals gather in Baltimore for the first NSBE convention
"It's such a moment of pride to be, not just because I am engineer, not just because I’m black, maybe because I am both, but to just know that this is something that has endured having started in the 70s having had to endure the ups and downs of society and life and yet 51 years later we are still leading building and solving the world's toughest problems," Janeen Uzzell said.
Uzzell, the CEO of NSBE, said she is proud to have the convention in Baltimore this year and connect with local businesses and tech professionals.
"It's wonderful to be in a black city with a black mayor, our young people can see what it means to lead and to do big things," Uzzell said.
National Chair Chika Okwor takes pride in seeing so many young Black people eager to get into the STEM field.
"To show up here, to continue to excel, we're black engineers to help them exceed professionally to help them positively impact the community and to help them excel academically as well so I think just being here this week while we are here in Baltimore there is some great things to expect," Okwor said.
Attendees can expect a career fair, job interview opportunities, professional development, games, fun, and a chance to connect with Baltimore.
"It’s generally a great time, it’s a great place to meet so many amazing people," an attendee said.
College students like Emmanuel Tamenut, who attends the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, said this convention brings him more opportunities to grow and get connected to industry professionals.
"Being able to kind of be surrounded by people who have been through that and are willing to help because they have probably had the helping hand or they haven’t but they want to be like that beacon of light it's amazing," Tamenut said.
Attendees also get to connect with others from around the world.
"I met people in my field last year coming from places like Texas A&M and I follow them until now on their LinkedIn pages, see the progress they are making and it gives me hope for where and what I can still do in my field," Chioma said.
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