Jacobs Gives Back to Kansas City Community with STEAM Event at Local School

At Jacobs, we want people to feel included, that they belong, and that there is no limit to who they can be and what we can achieve together. For us, inclusion is about tangible action that drives meaningful, measurable change both in our company and in the communities we serve. It means creating a culture of belonging where everyone can thrive — a culture that we call TogetherBeyond and that’s integral to our Boldly Moving Forward strategy.

That means that we don’t just show up to a conference or event, we want to truly make a difference in the community — and that’s just what we did in Kansas City ahead of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) 49^th Annual Convention.

Jacobs hosted a STEAM DAY at University Academy in Kansas City— a diverse PreK through 12 college preparatory public charter academy, where students learned about opportunities in STEAM and participate in STEAM activities led by Jacobs employees. In addition to Jacobs employees, Kansas City Mayor, Quinton Lucas also attended.

Jacobs also made a $5,000 donation to the school to support their STEAM programs and is leading to charter a new NSBE Pre-College local chapter at the school. These activities not only align with our global STEAM education and engagement program, but also with our Action Plan for Justice & Equality — contributing to structural change in the broader society by supporting Black educational opportunities.

"Jacobs is excited to have had the opportunity to engage with young bright minds of the future, right here in Kansas City where we have served client and community partners for over 20 years," says Jacobs Vice President of Midwest Operations Sharon Jean-Baptiste. "Our company's commitment to tackling systemic barriers to lasting change in Black and other underrepresented communities is one of the key objectives of the Jacobs' Action Plan for Advancing Justice and Equality adopted in 2020 in response to the social and racial awakening following the death of George Floyd. This is a generational opportunity for companies like ours to stand up, speak out and to lead in creating a more equitable future for all."

We’re also sponsoring this year’s NSBE Annual Convention. NSBE, founded in 1975, supports and promotes the aspirations of collegiate and pre-collegiate students and technical professionals in engineering and technology. With more than 600 chapters and more than 24,000 active members in the U.S. and abroad, NSBE’s mission is “to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.” The convention is expected to draw over 12,000 people.

"I'm encouraged about how Jacobs employees across our company rally together to make a lasting impact on our communities," adds Jacobs Vice President, People & Places Solutions Strauder Patton. "The STEAM Day in Kansas City was a great kick-off to our NSBE Annual Convention engagements and represents how much we care about the Kansas City community and seeing the STEAM pipeline grow."

Thriving communities. Giving back. A brighter future. What we do is more than a job. Every day, Jacobs’ employees around the world make a positive difference for our clients and the communities in which we live and work, and we’re proud to share how we’re doing just that in Kansas City.