SJSU Black Engineer Week Kicks Off With Juneteenth Celebration

When Black Engineer Week launched at SJSU in 2021, it started small.

At the height of COVID, students gathered virtually for most sessions and activities. They also had a couple of opportunities to connect in person through outdoor activities like hiking and golf.

Five years later, Black Engineer Week has evolved into a larger celebration that gives Black engineering students opportunities to socialize, network and connect with companies across Silicon Valley.

This year, the weeklong conference kicks off with a Juneteenth celebration at the San José Museum of Art, highlighting Black innovation across art, engineering, music, gaming, mentorship and technology. This will be the first time that SJSU will be collaborating with the museum; in previous years, the Juneteenth event was held at The Tech Interactive.

Folarin Erogbogbo, a professor in the Biomedical Engineering Department, has been teaching at SJSU for the past 13 years. Several years ago, he served as faculty-in-residence for the Black Scholars Floor. As his time with the program was coming to an end, he felt compelled to create a new opportunity to support Black students in engineering - a field where they are often underrepresented.

In his role with the Black Scholars Floor, Erogbogbo took students to visit companies such as Facebook and Tesla. Those experiences helped shape his thinking about what would eventually become Black Engineer Week.

"In the STEM space, there's a lack of Black talent, and in our engineering classes, only 2% of the students are Black," says Erogbogbo. "So we wanted to do something that would integrate both worlds. And Juneteenth was being recognized as a federal holiday, so I started thinking about what we could build around it."

He began reaching out to contacts at various companies, many of whom were interested in collaborating. From there, Erogbogbo and others worked together to design an itinerary of engaging events for Black engineering students.

This year, after the Juneteenth celebration, Black Engineer Week will also feature a golfing event at the Spartan Golf Complex, a hike, and visits to companies including NVIDIA, LinkedIn, Chase and Adobe.

"Black Engineer Week is a great way of bringing the community together and seeing what's going on," says Erogbogbo.

Erogbogbo estimates that a couple of hundred students attend the event each year. Students who are not yet in college are also welcome to attend, provided they are accompanied by a parent.

In the past, Erogbogbo says event organizers have focused on reaching out to engineering students. More recently, they have also started reaching out to incoming transfer students and first-year students.

"For these students, it's their first introduction to SJSU," says Erogbogbo. "So they're going to places like NVIDIA and LinkedIn, and it's such an amazing experience for them."

Black Engineer Week requires multiple partnerships and collaborations to support its growing series of events. Support from individuals and groups such as the SJSU Career Center, Dean of the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering Sheryl Ehrman, Executive Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations Sela Gaglia, President Cynthia Teniente-Matson and the National Society of Black Engineers has helped the conference continue to grow and evolve.

In addition to partnering with organizations across SJSU and California, Erogbogbo hopes to collaborate with African nations and organizations.

"I think SJSU transforms lives," says Erogbogbo. "Some people feel like they're in the margins. Black Engineer Week gives them an opportunity to feel like their lives are being transformed. For some, that might mean getting a scholarship or connecting with people like them in the industry. Or it could mean getting the chance to experience Silicon Valley. Black Engineer Week can affect their job prospects as they graduate. It's very affirming for people who are traditionally in the margins of engineering, and I think it broadens participation from that perspective."

The Juneteenth event will take place at the San José Museum of Art on Friday, June 19, from 3:30 to 9 p.m. The event will feature a live music performance by Prof. Eros, a gaming activation led by ArtTech Playground , a LEGACY youth showcase with Club14 , mentoring from 100 Black Men of Silicon Valley Chapter and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women of Silicon Valley, and an art showcase featuring the late Benny Andrews' work and more. Erogbogbo, who has practiced African hand drumming for years, will also be leading a drumming activity.

Everyone is invited to attend the Juneteenth event , and registration is available online. Registration is also available through the SJMA website .