Wearing matching grey T-shirts supporting the cause, alumni and collegiate members from chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers went door-to-door in an underprivileged neighborhood April 26 sharing information about education.
Deemed, “A Walk for Education,” NSBE members and other volunteers spent much of the day passing out information on financial aid, both the ACT and SAT, scholarships and obtaining a GED.
“Overall, I think it was a great event,” said Bradley Hill, the event's co-captain. “Even with the rain, 150 people or so came out.”
Walkers targeted homes and two apartment complexes near Finnagan Community Center—described by Hill as the city’s Fifth Ward.
Community members were invited to join volunteers at a barbecue on the grounds of the community center following the walk. Here, residents had the chance to eat food, and attend workshops offering insight into the transition from high school to college, financing college and choosing a career.
The effort, held annually since 2002, got its start with a University of Houston student.
Moved by a speech about declining enrollment of blacks at colleges, Kay Babineux—a student at the UH central campus—proposed the idea for the walk to the NSBE’s Southeast Texas chapters of NSBE.
On Feb. 2, 2002, the first walk took place in Houston near Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. A few weeks later, in March, a motion was passed at the NSBE National Convention making the effort a regional program. The program is now held annually in one city in each of the six regions.
During the month of April, Houston was among five other chapters in five cities nationally and one internationally to hold the event. These cities included Philadelphia, Pa.; Lexington, Ky.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Hartford, Conn. and Toronto, Canada.
Asked about the success of the groups’ presence in Houston, Joshua Situka, NSBE regional programs chair, had this to say.
“It only takes a few to do something great,” Situka said. “As long as one person was interested, I think it was a success.”