2015 Spring Career Networking
The career committee of the AAAEA-IL hosted its first career networking event on April 26th 2015. This event aimed to empower the undergraduate and graduate students, unemployed, or underemployed professional in their job track selection, application, interviews, and offer negotiation. Mr. Bilal Al-Masri emphasized on the importance of developing professional networks, which plays a major role in exposing qualified candidates to the right employers. Developing a network could be through student organizations and clubs, professional organizations, or technical committees. Mr. Hani Mayzouni introduced in his presentation essential points to acquire before any job application including a clear business card that describes qualifications and skills, solid and concise resume, and a 30-second introduction that provide a good idea about the candidate. He also talked about the how to establish a professional network through the community, college mates, professional and social events. After that, Mr. Mayzouni discussed the process of job application, interview, and offer negotiation. Dr. Mohsen Issa, professor of civil engineering at the university of Illinois in Chicago, discussed the benefits of graduate studies, and provides tips about managing time between work and studies, as well as how to embark the academic track with solid technical knowledge and qualifications. An open discussion was then held to answer the questions of the audience.
Khaled Hasiba
AAAEA-Chicago
Career Chair
Project Pipeline: Have Your Children Learn About Engineering
AAAEA-Chicago is pleased to support the Illinois chapter of the National Organization of 
Minority Architects (I-NOMA) in their fourth annual Project Pipeline. This collaboration is only the latest of AAAEA’s endeavors to increase involvement in diverse activities and prioritize meaningful community engagement. This follows AAAEA’s recent invitation to speak about diversity at the United States Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board “Celebrate Diversity” Event and successful implementation of the first ever Arab American Big Brother Big Sister Mentoring program.
Project Pipeline is a day camp aimed to expose Chicago 6th to 8 th graders to the design professions of architecture and engineering. This year’s program will take place from August 20th to August 23rd at the University of Chicago campus. Students will be exposed to architecture and design basics including sketching seminars, model building workshops, walking tours, and presentation of real design problems. This year’s theme is “Social Good through Design.”
AAAEA has committed itself to working closely with Arab American Family Services (AAFS) and local schools to reach out to eligible students. Enrollment continues to be successful and AAAEA encourages all interested students to sign up.
Additionally, AAAEA is seeking opportunities for engineering firms and members of AAAEA to collaborate on the project in terms of financial sponsorship or volunteering to mentor during the camp. Educating the youth on the exciting career choices they have in architecture and design is an increasingly important goal for developing future talent.
Please feel free to contact Dana Al-Qadi (dana.alqadi@aecom.com) or Khaled Hasiba (career@aaaea.org) with any questions or concerns.