High schooler launches Philly’s first junior chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers

The 11th grader at George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science in North Philly isn’t waiting to start putting his dreams in motion.

Earlier this year, he launched a junior chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) at Carver. It’s the first NBSE Jr. chapter in the city, according to School District of Philadelphia officials, and Whyee hopes it’ll help build community for students of color and open opportunities for those who participate.

“What I seek to gain out of NSBE is a sense of community, a sense of belonging,” Whyee told Technical.ly. “I feel like if you have the community, it doesn’t feel as lonely trying to really try to grind it out, trying to really accomplish your goals.”

Only about 9% of the STEM workforce is made up of Black people, according to the Pew Research Center, with only 5% of engineers being Black.

Founded in 1975, the nonprofit NSBE now has more than 600 chapters around the world. It provides opportunities for K-12 students, college students and professionals in the industry.

Whyee first heard about the society while at a First Tech Challenge robotics competition. He brought the idea to start a chapter at Carver to his engineering teacher, Scott Koehler, and the two started planning. Their first meeting happened in January.

The chapter meets every Monday to discuss projects and ideas for how to engage students with engineering, Whyee said. As of March, it had 19 members, who are currently planning engineering-based workshops to show off projects and allow other students to play with engineering tools.

Channeling a passion for problem solving

Whyee’s passion for engineering — specifically, mechanical, electrical and machine learning engineering, he said — comes from elementary school, where he remembers first learning about robots and coding.

He especially enjoys the journey to solving a problem or accomplishing a task.

“The thing I like so much is how much you have to be involved, how much you have to learn, how much you have to collaborate, how much you have to just build your skills,” Whyee said. “In order to tackle a gargantuan task that is engineering.”

This year, the teenager is taking AP robotics and engineering courses, and is involved in science olympiad, engineering club and the Philadelphia Robotics Coalition. That’s in addition to running his NSBE Jr. chapter.

GW Carver Principal Darryl Johnson is thrilled about the new club, and hopes it encourages more students of color to become interested in engineering. A successful chapter could lead to a strong network for future students, he said.

Carver chapter members are already collaborating with engineers at the college level: Engineering students from Temple University have made in-person visits to connect with high schoolers, Whyee said. He’s also hoping to collaborate with professional engineers from local companies (so if your firm is interested, please reach out).

Short term, the chapter is working on raising money so members can go to the national NSBE conference next year. Long term, Whyee hopes his club becomes well known among the student body as a supportive place for aspiring engineers.

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.