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FROM ASHES TO ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Rebirth of Temple University IEEE Student Branch

By Chilezie Nnadi, 2003-2004 President
Edited by Jim Watson, PE, IEEE Region 2 Support Coordinator

Our forty-one year old branch was inaugurated on June 10, 1963 in the Community College and Technical Institute of Temple University, which now is the College of Engineering at Temple University. History indicates our branch was one of the most active in the Philadelphia section in its early years of existence. Starting in 1982, this student branch has hosted six Student Professional Awareness Conferences, with the most recent one held in 2001. However, like many other student branches, with the graduation of officers, the organization became inactive, and the door to the IEEE office remained closed during my freshman year.

When Mercy Obi, the 2002-2003 Temple University IEEE President, brought up the idea of rejuvenating our IEEE branch, everyone thought she was out of her mind. First, she was in her senior year, which meant that she had tons of responsibilities. Secondly, she did not have a team to start with — it was a 100% solo effort. She started by persistently spreading awareness of our IEEE branch by sharing with her colleagues the importance of reopening that office, and how much it would benefit all students. Mercy met with the branch counselor, Dr. Li Bai, and sold her idea to him. Once Dr. Bai bought the idea, the tough journey of rebuilding started by first dusting off cobwebs from the office.

After the office was cleaned and the door to room 704 opened, inquisitive minds were attracted to the office and more people expressed their interest in the rebuilding efforts. By now, Mercy had sold her idea to just enough people to organize an election. The period before and during the officer elections served as a good publicity media for the branch, because most students, especially upper classmen, started to realize that, if nothing else, they could vie for office and add this to their resume.

Elections were over, officers settled into their different positions, and together they developed a master plan. They set short term and long term goals. Some of which included fund raising, creating a current listserve, organizing a Student Professional Awareness Conference (S-PAC), rewarding officers by nominating them for scholarships, providing academic help for lower classmen and so on. Some of these goals were accomplished while some were not. One of the outstanding accomplishments was the S-PAC on April 2, 2003.

The S-PAC was especially successful viewed from the perspective of a rejuvenating branch. We had over 200 Students in attendance with three professional speakers and representatives from the IEEE Philadelphia section. The S-PAC created professional awareness for students and it was a great way to draw attention to what the branch has to offer.

The S-PAC also proved that IEEE office is analogous to a natural resource waiting to be harnessed. This conference made it possible to go from almost no recognition to being the cynosure of all eyes.

It was not an easy task organizing a successful S-PAC. It involved lots of planning, teamwork, and proposals to solicit funds and most importantly dedication to accomplishing the set goal. The teamwork exhibited during the planning of the S-PAC helped build a sense of unity among the officers, and this went a long way to make our job easier. The efforts put into rebuilding the branch was recognized by the IEEE Philadelphia section and, as secretary, I was fortunate to receive a $5,000.00 IEEE Student Leadership Award.

The dawn of one regime marked the beginning of another. It was time again to hold officer elections for the 2003-2004 year. It will not be a surprise to say that the amount of people interested in participating in the elections increased by more than 100%. Our membership had risen by more than 200%, and more people were willing to make a change and harness the natural resource — our IEEE branch.

Elections were over, and as expected, officers settled into their respective positions. Together again, we set a master plan for the year. Some of the goals included:

• Organizing our first Student Professional Awareness Venture (PAVe) — a networking event/job fair in collaboration with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

• Creating a database of IEEE student member resumes

• Organizing a second S-PAC in 2003 (December 3, 2003)

• Organizing field trips

• Hosting local guest speakers

• Periodically showing electrical engineering career videos to create an awareness of the electrical engineering profession

• Offering officers and other students the opportunity to enhance their leadership, teamwork, and other non-technical skills by being involved in the student branch activities

Most of the goals for the year were met. The second S-PAC and the networking/job fair venture generated the most interest among students. The success of this venture is expected to result in the continuation of this activity on an annual basis. The next conference is now being planned for the spring semester in 2005.

Our activities were not limited to S-PACs. For example, IEEE/SWE’s first annual networking event/job fair was the idea of IEEE’s Vice President Bunmi Babajide, who was also the president of SWE during that period. The event drew over a dozen companies to our school from the tri-state area (Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) to hire our students. The event was strongly supported by the College of Engineering. This included the Dean, Dr. Keya Sadeghipour, Director of Development, Jennifer Fuges, and Coordinator of Student Services, Reese Giddins.

As presidents of SWE and IEEE, Bunmi Babajide and I co-chaired the event. Students applauded the idea because they have long awaited an opportunity to have an engineering job fair as opposed to a general job fair with very few engineering companies in attendance. We also compiled a CD containing a database of IEEE member’s resumes and this CD was distributed to attending companies. Over 250 engineering students attended the event, and the aftermath of the event resulted in an increased demand for IEEE membership.

We went from grass to grace in so little time, and all it took was a few people, dedicated enough to achieve definite goals they set for themselves and for the good of humanity. “Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice, it is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.” (William Jennings)

Revised 11/04/04