This is the second story in a series featuring Iowa State National Society of Black Engineers members who are leading NSBE’s mission at Iowa State — and at the regional and national level. Click here for the first story in the series.
Create Connections: Abdelwadood Daoud
Abdelwadood Daoud, senior in mechanical engineering, serves as the NSBE Region V finance chair.
In this position, Daoud is considered a corporate liaison, promoting events by company request to NSBE students, raising funds through communication with corporate human resources leaders and coordinating the regional career fair of over 1,000 students.
“My goal is to negate the thought of money when the region is talking about professional development opportunities or other parts of the NSBE mission,” Daoud said. “With my work, we’re able to fund the conferences that provide students with the best experiences at NSBE.”
After joining NSBE and becoming the finance chair for the chapter his sophomore year, Daoud wanted to show other members why he is so passionate about the organization, so he ran for vice president of the Iowa State chapter during his junior year.
Daoud took Jocelyn Jackson’s recommendation to run for Region V finance chair during his senior year, and he was elected.
“I’m in contact with the heads of HR at most companies in the United States. I can help connect anyone in the organization with these companies through these opportunities,” Daoud said. “With the help of NSBE, a student from Iowa State can be talking to a vice president of engineering at Google and director of HR at Texas Instruments.”
Daoud says that his time with NSBE has helped him to develop his skills in leadership, speaking, finances and understanding the corporate structure, and that he has learned the most from the people involved.
“It’s all about developing connections with as many people as possible to see where it might lead,” Daoud said.
For more information about NSBE, visit nsbe.org or attend a general assembly meeting, held every other Thursday evening in Marston Hall. There are no membership restrictions for NSBE, and any member can run for a chapter officer position, which take place at the end of the spring semester each year.