Post on 22-Mar-2016
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PITT NSBE NAMED RETENTION CHAPTER OF THE YEAR
SOSSEENA WOODS NAMED NATIONAL CHAIR MEET THE
2013—2014 EXECUTIVE BOARD
BACK TO THE MOTHERLAND NSBE RETURNS INDIANAPOLIS FOR CONVENTION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
NSBE Convention 03
Ashley McCray 07
2013—2014 Executive Board 09
Sossena Wood 10
Congratulating and Recognizing Graduating Seniors 11
2012—2013 Newsletters 14
UNIVERSITY
OF
PITTSBURGH
NSBE
2013
NATIONAL
CONVENTION
...succeeding
professionally
HONORING OUR PAST, HONORING OUR PAST,
DRIVING OUR COMMUNITY FORWARDDRIVING OUR COMMUNITY FORWARD
This year, the National Society of Black Engineers returned home to Indianapolis, Indiana for the Nation-al Convention with the title theme. This year Pitt NSBE took more than 30 members this year. For many of the NSBE members, this was not the first convention they’ve been to, though for the many freshmen and some of the upper-class students, this was their first experience at a NSBE National Convention. Here are a few accounts of what the experi-ence was like.
Soyo Awosika-Olumo—Freshman Computer Engineer
1. Is this your first time going?
Yes.
2. How was the experience for you?
It was awesome.
3. Was it what you expected? What did you find most interesting about the experience?
It was what I expected in terms of the energy that was there. I found it interesting the passion and the drive that people had for the organi-zation.
JOHN DOE—Sophomore Civ. Eng.
1. Is this your first time going?
Yes.
2. How was the experience for you?
It was one of the best experi-ences of my life. The atmosphere put you in a good mood. I was so busy and I wasn’t even able to do
everything I was interested in. The convention instilled me with so much motivation. It helped me to understand NSBE at the greatest level and which I feel will help me to work to improve Pitt NSBE. I have never been more inspired to give back in my life.
3. Was it what you expected? What did you find most inter-esting about the experience?
It exceeded my expectations in every way. The most inter-esting aspect of the experience was how much I was able to learn about the organization and take back to my chapter.
This year the chapter represent-ed itself well in terms of leader-ship and also winning the “Retention Chapter of Year Award.” The convention is an op-portunity for students to net-work and speak with representa-tives of the 300+ companies pre-sent. It also a chance to sit in on
workshops that teach leadership, networking amongst other valua-ble skills for students in STEM majors. It’s not all work and no play. The convention also in-cludes many other activities in-cluding various shows and gath-erings for the attendees. Those who went came back with a greater insight as to what NSBE really stands for and what it means to be a member of the National Society of Black Engi-neers. Pitt is looking forward to continuing this tradition of a strong presence and strong lead-ership at future annual conven-tions.
ASHLEY
McCray
Ashley McCray has had year of accomplishments as
this past years’ Academics Chair. But before we get
to what those accomplishments were, a little back-
ground information. When asked why she chose en-
gineering, she responded: “Long story short, I didn’t
choose engineering. It chose me. I was the typical
pre-med smart kid that was going to study chemistry/
biology and go to medical school. But I sat n on an
engineering discussion my senior year where they
explained who engineers were and what they did and
I realized that that was me. So instead of studying
chemistry, I declared Chemical Engineering.. Hailing
from Chicago, Illinois, she was then asked why the
University of Pittsburgh. “The University of Pitts-
burgh is well rounded. The fact that Pitt has great ac-
ademics, athletics, and social life made it a front run-
ner in my top 5. But when it came down to the final
decision, the city itself swayed my vote. As a born
Chicagoan, I wanted to be nearby a big city and not
be constricted to just a “college town.”
Her older sister’s activity in the National Soci-
ety of Black Engineers is what inspired her to join.
As she put it “...it just looked like fun.” She goes on
to say “...when I was still visiting universities, I went
to my state school’s high school visit, which was an
overnight hosted by their NSBE and SHPE chapters
and had so much fun. And of course, being an Afri-
can-American engineering student, it only seemed
right that she join the organization. Her first position
in NSBE came when previous Academic Excellence
Chair, Jada Davis went abroad. McCray was recom-
mended to replace her in the position during the sec-
ond semester. She went on to retain the position her
Sophomore year. She had many successes. When
asked about them she summed them as such:
“We had many programs and events, but what really mat-
ters to me is the lasting impact. So I believe the successes I
hold nearest to my heart is seeing how well my freshman
are doing, seeing how the chapter is utilizing our resources
(NSBE library and each other and how well they’re doing.
This growth and improvement was illustrated with our
chapter receiving the “Retention Chapter of the
Year” award. Also, one of my goals was to ensure
our biannual Study-A-Thon was more recognized
across the entire campus. And we achieved that
goal.” This year had a record amount of students
attending each day of the Study-A-Thon, to make
it one of the great successes of the chapter this
year.
The final question she was asked pertains to
her current position. When asked which position
she wanted to hold next, she responded saying she
wanted to go to the regional level and planned to
run for the Region 2 Programs Chair position. We
are happy to announce that she won the position
and has many plans and goals as she prepares to
take on this new challenge. “I have so many big
dreams for our region and the organization as a
whole, but I feel like improving the simple things
will cause a domino effect. My big goal is to in-
crease chapter-to-chapter communication and col-
laboration through programs geared to improve
our academic achievement, professional develop-
ment and overall as cultured individuals.”
President Marcus Jordan
Vice-President Casey Tompkins-Rhoades
Secretary Soyo Awosika-Olumo
Treasurer John Walker
Programs Chair Katreena Thomas
Business Diversity Brianna Pinckney
Parliamentarian Ashley Smoots
Conference Planning Chair Tolu Dayo
Senator Robert Timmons
Senator Rodney Kizito
Membership Brytani Hinson
Membership Macy McCollum
PCI Rachel Strother
PCI Roland Beard
Academic Excellence Joy Frazier
Comm. Outreach Oghoghosa Igbineweka
Finance Chair Danielle Carter
Historian Yinka Olutoye
Public Relations Shemaine Benson
Publications Adedoyin Ojo
2013—2014 Pitt NSBE Executive Board
Sossena Wood: A Visible Engineer
It is no doubt that Sossena Wood
has worked tirelessly to get to
where she is in both engineering
and the National Society of Black
Engineers. Currently, she is pur-
suing her PhD in Bioengineering
at the University of Pittsburgh as
both a K. Leroy Irvis and GEM
fellow. She graduated as an un-
dergrad with a Bachelor’s Degree
in Electrical Engineering.
Many students at the University
of Pittsburgh can attest to her
want to help out students. Many
turn to her for advice and encour-
agement. She has served as a role
mentor, friend and role model to
many of the members in engi-
neering. She’s always there
whenever you need her.
She is no stranger to achievement
or leadership. She has served in
several executive board positions
while an undergraduate at Pitt
including Senator and President.
She has also served as the Region
II Vice-Chairperson and Chair-
person, Last year she served as
the National Vice-Chair of the
National Society of Black Engi-
neers. Her vision for NSBE is
focused on advancing the society
through the academic excellence
of the members. Her vision as a
whole as stated in her bio on the
NSBE website “Sossena’s vision
the society, is to lead NSBE to
drive innovation through the
Academic Excellence of our
members, have our members
consciously give back to the
organization, increase and devel-
op the number of technical pro-
fessionals and focus on women in
STEM.” She is focused on
bringing NSBE to a front where
companies are turning to the
society for their engineers. Dur-
ing her candidacy for National
Chairperson when asked “What
can NSBE do to build on the
2012 – 2013 National Direc-
tives,” she answered as such: “As
Chair, I believe to build on the
foundation of the current national
directives, we should:
1. Make academic excellence our
premier directive
2. Focus in on exposing and re-
taining more minority females to
technical fields
3. Concentrate on the growth of
young technical professionals
4. Develop our members to give
back
I believe these key areas enable
us to challenge our membership
so that they might grow through
their involvement.”
She goes on to say, answering
another question asked “We will
encourage the increasing number
of graduates to positively impact
our community by remaining
visible Black engineers, illumi-
nating our contributions to and
opportunities in technical fields.”
For the entirety of this interview
visit the following link (http://
www.nsbe.org/Blogs/National-
Senate-Blog/Elections-2013/
Sossena-Wood.aspx) No doubt,
Ms. Wood has the membership of
NSBE as her focus for advancing
the National Society of Black
Engineers to a greater
presence, and she will
achieve and excel as this
coming year’s National
Chairperson, the 6th
woman to ever hold the
position.
“I unselfishly serve because I believe in what our founders believed in and I vividly see the promise of our Society…”
Twenty-One Pitt Students Receive 2013 National Science Foundation Fellowships
Twenty-one University of Pittsburgh students have received 2013 Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The fellowships have been awarded to eight seniors who graduated from the University April 28 and 13 students who are pursuing graduate studies at Pitt.
The NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program is designed to ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce in the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees. Fellows receive a three-year annual sti-pend of $30,000 along with a $12,000 cost-of-education allowance for tuition and fees.
The fellowship program has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. The support accorded NSF Graduate Research Fellows nurtures their ambition to become lifelong leaders who contribute significantly to both sci-entific innovation and teaching.
The names of the newly graduated Pitt seniors receiving the fellowships and their earned Universi-ty degrees are: Ohiremen Louis Dibua, Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering; Sydney Michelle Gibson, Bachelor of Science in bioengineering; Naomi Rose Latorraca, Bachelor of Arts in history and Bachelor of Science in molecular biology; Elizabeth O’Reilly, Bachelor of Science in mathematics, Carsen Stringer, Bachelor of Science in physics and applied mathematics, Lisa R. Volpatti, Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering; Christopher Allen Zimmerman, Bachelor of Science in bioengineering and Bachelor of Science in neuroscience; and Andrew Charles Zmolek, Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering.
The Pitt graduate students from the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences who have re-
ceived the fellowships and their academic departments are: Neal Cameron Barcelo, computer sci-
ence; Shannon Diane Donofry, psychology; Stephen R. Groskreutz, chemistry; Kathryn Ann
LeCroy, biological sciences; Sarah Diane Lichenstein, psychology; Bryce Leslie Lunt, biological sci-
ences; Megan Miller, psychology; and Julia Diane Reuben, psychology. The Pitt graduate student
from the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences receiving the fellowship is Nathan Scott Ho-
gaboom, rehabilitation science and technology; the Pitt graduate student from the School of Medi-
cine receiving the fellowship is Jeffrey Chiou, neurobiology; and the Pitt graduate students from
the Swanson School of Engineering’s bioengineering department receiving the fellowships are Den-
ver Michael Faulk, Sharlene Nicole Flesher, and Timothy Joseph Keane.
Source: http://www.as.pitt.edu/news-events/dietrich-school-students-among-record-number-
nsf-fellowship-recipients
NEWSLETTERS
THE
2012 2013