“The National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE) has existed for 44 years and has evolved into an organization that has programs and membership extending from high school and college students to professionals in all disciplines of engineering. The goal and commitment of NSBE is to widen the pool of engineering talent from Black communities. NSBE is expanding its pipeline from third grade to graduate school by designing tools and programs that will support and nurture budding engineers. Through its 350 pre-collegiate, collegiate and professional chapters NSBE trains its 31,000 members for leadership within the organization and in business.

Some of the programs that NSBE has designed to prepare future engineers are: Competitions, Scholarships, Strategic Partnerships (e.g. GEM, ASCE, Society of Women Engineers, etc.) and Summer Engineering (SEEK – Summer Engineering for Kids). NSBE events include camps, competitions, conferences, webinars and conventions.

At this year’s convention 250 companies participated in the Career Fair with over 12,000 engineering students seeking internships and permanent positions. NSBE also sponsored sessions for mock interviews, resume review, dress for success and provided free headshots to all interviewees. There were several seminars and workshops designed for engineering students. There was also a small marketplace of vendors where attendees could purchase items such as jewelry, t-shirts and art.

The Allstate team included recruiters, hiring managers and individual contributors that represented different technology areas within the company. The highlight of the convention was the Career Fair where the Allstate booth was positioned in an excellent location. This gave us the opportunity to interface with a large amount of students. They discovered there is more to Allstate than expected. They discovered that there are opportunities in technology for engineers. We collected several hundred resumes of engineers interested in both internships and permanent employment.

What I found most rewarding was volunteering for Resume review. This gave me the opportunity to interact first-hand with students and young professionals. I found them to be intelligent, determined individuals with the desire to succeed. There was representation from schools across the country with even sophomores and freshmen preparing for internships. After working on resumes, I encountered some of them at the Career Fair and they reported success at obtaining interviews with their updated resumes. We also hosted a very successful Hospitality event where students could relax, eat and socialize while asking more questions about the company. Partnering with NSBE provides access to an untapped pool of resources that are potential, future innovators in technology. This was my first opportunity to represent the company at a career event and if asked to attend future conventions, my answer would be a definite Yes.”