Tag Archives: Sierra Shipley

SCE Student Leaders Receive UMKC SGA Awards

Two SCE student leaders received UMKC SGA Awards at the May 5, 2014 SGA Leadership Awards Banquet. Mechanical engineering freshman Torshawna Griffin received the UMKC SGA Emerging Leader Award, given to a freshman, sophomore or first year transfer student whose energy and vision revitalized their student org or council. Mechanical engineering graduating senior Sierra Shipley received the UMKC SGA Best Leader of a Student Organization, the highest award given to a student organization leader. Sierra is the 2013-2014 president of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). These awards are given to 13 student leaders annually. Nominations for the awards are evaluated by the SGA executive board which selects each years’ recipients. Congratulations Torshawna and Sierra!

UMKC NSBE Student Chapter Hosts Regional Conference

It was a busy summer for mechanical engineering student Sierra Shipley and electrical computer engineering student William Leverette as they served on the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Regional Leadership Conference Planning Committee helping to the organize NSBE Regional Leadership Conference held here in Kansas City August 9 – 11, 2013. Along with their NSBE student chapter staff advisor Selena Albert, Sierra and William made sure the 100 NSBE student engineers who traveled from all over the Midwest to attend the conference walked away with a better understanding of what it means to be a leader. See the UMKC Today article, UMKC Hosts National Society of Black Engineers Leadership Conference, for more information.

NSBE Members Promote STEM Education

A primary mission of the UMKC National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) student chapter is to encourage and promote STEM studies and careers to underrepresented minorities. Over the years, NSBE student chapter leaders have passed this torch so well that NSBE now sponsors and organizes several activities. Year-round NSBE holds sessions for high school students geared toward exposing them to the “fun in STEM studies” by building hovercraft models and rockets, exploring STEM concepts through experiential learning. In addition, sessions in ACT preparation, professionalism and public speaking are also provided and an annual youth minority engineering night is held in the spring. NSBE junior (high school students) joined our UMKC NSBE members at the NSBE national conference in March 27-31 in Indianapolis where they received mentoring and leadership training. Chapter enrichment activities for NSBE members include resume reviews, interview tactics and practice. NSBE members all agree that the opportunities for mentoring, community involvement and leadership training make NSBE an exceptional organization! To learn more about the NSBE mission, see the UMKC Today article “Engineering Students Promote Program” which features the experiences of current NSBE president DeJ’on Slaughter and vice-president George White. Sierra Shipley is NSBE’s president-elect.