Greetings, 45th Annual Convention PCI Attendees.

‍Or as a local Detroit song says, “What's happening what up what it do that's fasho, but everybody in my city say what up doe.”

‍On behalf of the 2019 Convention Planning Committee, it is my pleasure to welcome all NSBE Jr. students, advisors, parents and Kid Zone Kids to join the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) in Detroit, Mich., for NSBE’s 45th Annual Convention. It’s been more than 20 years since NSBE held a convention in Detroit, and I am very excited for the opportunity to share my city with you all for a week. We are anticipating this will be not only the biggest convention NSBE has seen thus far, but also the BEST!

‍The Pre-College Initiative (PCI) Conference at this year's Convention will be filled with opportunities: opportunities to EXPLORE Detroit and different STEM career paths, opportunities to ENGINEER a better future and opportunities to ELEVATEyour chapter and yourself. Convention will provide you the tools to create these opportunities with things such as our workshop tracks: Making the Grade – Academic Development; Career G.P.S. – Guidance to Professional Success; 4 the Culture; and STEMulate Your Mind. We have so much in store for you.

‍As NSBE continues "to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community” through all of its programming, goals and strategic plans, we also move closer to the halfway mark of our 10-year Strategic Plan. So I want to remind you all of the primary goal NSBE has set, which is to increase the annual number of African-American engineering bachelor’s degree recipients from 3,501 in 2014 to 10,000 by 2025. I also want to remind you that YOU, our NSBE Jr. students, are the future not only of NSBE but the world. Without you, there is no way to reach our numbers. If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to take the pledgebefore the Convention, today, to be 1 of the 10,000 engineering graduates!

In return, I pledge to you all that we will work endlessly to ensure that whether this is your first NSBE Annual Convention or your 10th, it will be the most memorable. The PCI Conference planning committee is working to ensure that you enjoy every aspect of Convention, from the competitions to the workshops to the meals to the night activities to some secret new surprises we are excited about.

‍It’s an exciting time for NSBE, as we continue to “Explore. Engineer. Elevate.”, and I cannot wait to see you all in March. Please feel free to reach out to me at cpcpci@nsbe.org with any questions, concerns or suggestions, and be sure to follow the Convention social media pages and the NSBE Jr. website for all of the latest news and information leading up to the Convention!

‍Welcome to the 3-1-3 Comeback City and Region IV!

‍With NSBE Luv,

‍Azia Harris-Martin

‍

‍2019 Annual Convention Pre-College Initiative Conference Chair

National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)

NSBE's 4​5​th Annual Convention

#NSBE4​5​: ​Explore. Engineer. Elevate.​ March ​27–31, 201​9​| Detroit, Mich.

"Those of us who are passing off the scene, like Nelson Mandela, like me (Coleman A. Young), like Martin, who is already gone, we're passing on to you who are coming on the scene, the torch. You should be thrilled with the opportunity that you have to complete the revolution."

‍— Coleman A. Young, Mayor of Detroit (1974–1994)