Cornell’s pre-professional Black student organizations foster community among members and offer professional support for careers in fields spanning from law to engineering. The Sun spoke with members of the Black Ivy Pre-Law Society and the National Society for Black Engineers about how these organizations have shaped their Cornell experience.
Black Ivy Pre-Law Society
One of the most prominent of these groups is the Black Ivy Pre-Law Society. Founded in 2016 by Samantha Camy ’18 and Lydia Anglin ’18, the organization aims to support Black students at Cornell who are intending to pursue careers in law after graduation.The organization aims to make entering the legal profession more accessible to Black students through partnership and mentorship, according to their website.
One example of this is Black Ivy’s partnership with the Cornell Black Law Students Association, a branch of a national organization that similarly seeks to improve accessibility to legal education. The partnership allows members to receive mentorship from students attending the Cornell Law School.
Additionally, Black Ivy provides its members with access to LSAT test prep course tools through its partnership with Kaplan, as well as more recent sponsorships from 7Sage and LSAT Demon.
Black Ivy also hosts yearly Advantage Tours where members can travel to various cities to visit law schools, law firms and courts for free.
Elsie Ishami Muhirwa ’26, Black Ivy’s managing partner, joined the organization her freshman year as a first-generation and international student. Through Black Ivy, Muhirwa met her best friend and found support in the community.
Upperclassmen within Black Ivy provide mentorship for underclassmen, and Muhirwa has been both a mentor and mentee during her time in the organization. Black Ivy members often share resources and internship opportunities in their GroupMe, Muhirwa said, and even share links to attend outside events that members are a part of in support.
"We have people in a capella groups, dance teams and many other organizations around campus," Muhirwa said. “We all go and support each other beyond the pre-law community.”
For Muhirwa, both the people in Black Ivy and her passion for law uplifted her Cornell experience. She credits her current achievements as a pre-law student to Black Ivy and encourages students to engage in pre-law communities at the University.
“Whether you choose to join Black Ivy or one of the other incredible pre-law organizations on campus, I hope you feel encouraged to pursue the pre-law track based on our experiences. It is definitely worth it,” Muhirwa said. “I’ve had a really positive experience [at Cornell] because of the pre-law community on campus — especially Black Ivy.”
The National Society for Black Engineers
Another pre-professional club on campus, The National Society for Black Engineers, is a national organization that was chaptered at Cornell in 1977. According to their national website, NSBE’s mission is to “increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.”
In an interview with The Sun, NSBE-CU President Maguette Diop ’26 explained why she first joined the organization her freshman year.
“I came from a predominantly Black high school, and it was hard to find a community” at Cornell, said Diop. “Joining NSBE-CU helped me find that.”
Diop explained that NSBE-CU collaborates with high schools in the northeastern U.S., guiding students through college applications and exposing them to engineering careers — a practice Diop shared she is passionate about since she was originally drawn to engineering because of an engineering program at her high school, Success Academy. If it wasn’t for the program, Diop said she thinks she would never “have landed in engineering.”
“After that [program], I fell in love with it — the only question I had after was what type of engineering I wanted to pursue,” Diop said.
The impact that the community had on Diop inspired her to give back through NSBE-CU.
"It's about pouring back into those who are younger than you, taking care of both yourself and those who will come after,” she explained.
At the collegiate level, NSBE-CU provides opportunities for professional development such as networking events, conferences with other chapters and peer mentorship, all of which aim to help members land jobs in the future.
Diop said that having the guidance of upperclassmen taught her how to navigate her own networking events and professional development.
“When I was a freshman, the upperclassmen helped guide me through the application process, how to talk to a recruiter, and practice elevator pitches for interviews,” Diop said.
According to Diop, beyond the lines of their mission statement, NSBE-CU is a community brought together by shared identity.
“They’re Black. I’m Black. They’re engineers. I'm an engineer. I felt that [NSBE-CU members] were the ones who could understand and help me through my problems,” Diop said.
NSBE-CU is an organization that hosts open events for anyone to attend, such as line dancing, cookouts or other outdoor events.
“Our goal was to bring together the community, not just the engineering community but also the larger Black Cornell community," Diop explained.
Other Black pre-professional organizations at Cornell include The Black Bio-medical and Technical Association, which sets underrepresented students on track for careers in health, and Cornell’s chapter of BlackGen Capital, which is the first investment fund owned by minorities at the University.
Jonathan McCormack is a sophomore in the Cornell College of Arts & Sciences. He is a staff writer for the news department and can be reached at jjm538@cornell.edu.
Anjelina Gonzalez is a member of the Class of 2026 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is a senior writer for the News department and can be reached at agonzalez@cornellsun.com.
