New Kids on the Block
Orangeburg 5 Technology Center
PCI Chapter of the Year
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Members of the Orangeburg 5 Technology Center NSBE Jr. Chapter with Chapter Advisor Phyllis Pelzer (front row, center)
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In October 2009, none of the students in Mrs. Pelzer’s Project Lead the Way Pre-Engineering class had any idea what a “NSBE” was. Six months later, their NSBE Jr. chapter was the talk of the town!
Getting Off the Ground
Phyllis Pelzer is a licensed civil engineer. When she was hired by the Orangeburg Consolidated School District Five Technology Center in the summer of 2009, her director, Johnny Murdaugh, Ed.D., asked her to start a club for her pre-engineering students. For the majority African-American student population at the Technology Center, the choice was obvious. The small college town of Orangeburg, S.C., was already home to two collegiate chapters of NSBE: South Carolina State University and Claflin University. It just made sense to get the high school students involved. Although these students had never heard of NSBE, it didn’t take much convincing. The students were excited from the beginning. As Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School senior Harold Rickenbacker put it, “I just joined because my teacher told me to!” By the end of the second week, they had their first officers installed and were making plans to attend their Region II Conference less than five weeks away.
Charles Williams, 2010–2011 chapter president, remembers attending that first conference.
“When we arrived in Greensboro, N.C., we were so excited to see so many other high school and college students displaying their NSBE pride. And, even though we didn’t know what a chant was (and couldn’t) recite the mission statement verbatim, when we heard Dr. Mack speak, we knew that we were a part of something really big. We were hooked! We told Mrs. Pelzer that we were definitely going to Canada!” he says.
The chapter took 18 students to the Fall Regional Conference, stopping by North Carolina A&T State University and visiting the N.C. A&T chapter before the conference. The students really started to get a feel for what NSBE meant. By the time they left Greensboro, they had taken third place in the Try-Math-A-Lon, and chapter member Christopher Pace had won recognition for having the highest score on the competition’s Progress Assessment Test.
You’re Going Where!?
By the time the news traveled back home to Orangeburg, students were joining so fast that membership doubled to more than 50. NSBE excitement was in the air. However, in January, when the chapter announced it was going to Toronto, Canada, for NSBE’s Annual Convention, the news was met with a bit of skepticism — from parents, students and administrators. After all, the convention was less than two months away, and the chapter only had $100 to its name! With no financial support to rely on from the school district, the students quickly had to begin fundraising: selling, raffling and car-washing their way to Canada.
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