Student Projects
NSBE in the City

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Project Manager

Edwin Mizen, Student

Amount Requested

$5,000

Summary

"NSBE in the City" is the Northwestern NSBE chapter's 2023- 2024 project to increase participation in the upcoming NSBE regional conference in Chicago. Our chapter wishes to use the funds to pay for various activities throughout the weekend of the conference, including bowling, laser tag, meals, and an ice cream social. Funds will also be used for transporting students to and from the hotel. NSBE serves an important purpose specifically in the Black community as well as in the wider Northwestern community in general. As an organization, NSBE welcomes all walks of life, regardless of race and major. The mission of NSBE is “to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.” These words, which the Northwestern chapter was founded upon, still ring true and motivate each member to develop a professional presence and contribute to the overall NSBE community. The NSBE regional conference is a fantastic networking opportunity for club members; however, many freshmen do not realize this initially as their exposure to NSBE and Northwestern is limited by their lack of time on campus. Being able to put on a project like "NSBE in the City" will accomplish multiple NSBE club goals in one weekend. This project will entice freshmen to come to the regional conference and begin engaging with a professional network. The project will also help kickstart the academic year with old and new members building community through fun activities and social events. Expected outcomes of this project include higher club participation and engagement, especially from the incoming freshman cohort. Being able to see the benefits of engaging with NSBE both as a place for community and as a professional resource will lead to lasting positive impacts on the Black undergraduate engineering population.

Planned Activities/Investments

Planned Activities include a bowling activity, a laser tag activity, meals and an ice cream social. All of these events are planned are designed with the dual goals of first enticing freshmen to come to the regional conference, and then integrating said freshmen into the NSBE community through various fun social events with other freshmen as well as upperclassmen. A wide variety of social events during the weekend of the regional conference will reach the widest audience and encourage as many people to come as possible. A bowling night activity would involve transporting regional conference participants to a bowling alley, reserving enough lanes for said participants, and allowing NSBE members to mix and mingle in a comfortable, informal environment while bowling. Many bowling alleys also have laser tag so these two event would most likely occur concurrently. Meals and an ice cream social would look similar logistically: transport conference attendees to a restaurant or ice cream parlor in Chicago, and using a dinner party style environment to foster a sense of shared community between all members. By funding these events, the Murphy Society would be directly supporting Northwestern NSBE's mission of creating a tight knit community of culturally competent and academically exceptional Black engineers. Funding for these proposed activities will allow NSBE to start the new academic year off strong, offering incoming freshmen as well as returning upperclassmen the chance to get involved in the NSBE community through a series of fun social events, as well as enticing club members to network professionally through the fall regional conference.

Impact

These proposed events will impact the overall Northwestern undergraduate community. As an organization, NSBE welcomes all walks of life, regardless of race and major. In keeping with Northwestern’s vision of inclusion, NSBE events and membership is open to anyone who wants to share in our community of academic and professional guidance. To evaluate the impact of the "NSBE in the City" project, NSBE plans to survey its members, using the existing NSBE email surveys as a means for data collection. Surveys for freshmen will be sent out to first-years at the end of the fall, winter, and spring quarter. The surveys will ask freshmen to rate the effectiveness of social events, PEM, the mentor-mentee program, etc.

Sustainability

The "NSBE in the City" event is expected to be an ongoing, recurring event, beyond the limits of this initial Murphy funding. We hope and expect to sustain the initiative through corporate sponsorships and alumni donations.

Deliverables

The main deliverables for this project are:

  • A bowling night social event
  • A laser tag social event
  • Meal nights throughout the regional conference weekend
  • An ice cream social

Budget Overview

  • $3,500 Meals: (roughly 6 meals/$15 per person/40 people)
  • $500: Laser tag
  • $500: Bowling
  • $250: Transportation/misc.

Total: $5,000

Advisor Sign-off

NSBE - Ellen Worsdall, Undergraduate Engineering