Sign up for Engineering Champion Mentorship Program
The AAAEA Engineering Champion program is a mentorship program. Created mainly to connect fresh junior engineers with more senior ones for career advices and career development. Also because of the need for professional engineers to help an increased influx of engineers immigrating to the United States from the Middle East. Some are newly graduated, but most have many years of overseas experience.
Engineering Champion mentors can help & guide mentees to enter the United States job market by educating them on the engineering job market in the United States and advising them on any necessary training, certificates, exams, and/or acquiring licenses.
With a network of over 1,000 engineers and hundreds of engineering firms, including the willingness of its members to help others, AAAEA is set to fill a critical void through the AAAEA Engineering Champion Program. Join us in this effort as a mentor by filling this for
Sign up to be an Engineering Champion Mentor!
If you are a mentee looking for a mentor
2017 Annual Hafleh
The Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects Illinois chapter held its annual hafleh to gather members, friends, and families on the evening of April 7th, 2017. This year, the executive board steered away from tradition, delivering a fun night full of excitement and fond memories.
The night began with a word from our President, Issam Rayyan, thanking our supporters, sponsors, members, and attendees. A special thank you was given to our special guests AAAEA Wisconsin, Arab American Family Services, Arab American Action Network, Arab American BAR Association, Arab American Business and Professional Association, Arab American Medical Association, Center for Arab American Philanthropy, Network of Arab American Professionals, and Syrian American Engineers and Architects. Several raffles were conducted giving away a variety of gifts, including the grand prizes of two televisions. To engage all guests, the committee organized a game of Family Feud. The interactive game was enjoyed as laughter filled the room. Following dinner, a comedic magician performed his mystery filled and entertaining act taking several volunteers of all ages to assist in his enticing performance. It was enjoyed by all and an overall good addition to our hafleh. The remainder of the evening was full of socializing, dabkeh, and dancing to music provided by our live DJ.
Looking back, the event was successful in achieving the goal of incorporating a new program aimed to deliver an enjoyable and memorable night to all who attended.
IL Chapter 2016 Summer Picnics
Listed below are the links and days for the summer picnics of 2016. They are all at the same location (Ty Warner Park in Westmont).
Food, fun, and sun! What more can you ask for?
We hope to see you there!
Picnic 1;
June 04
http://aaaea.org/il/event/aaaea-picnic-1/
July 17
http://aaaea.org/il/event/aaaea-picnic-2/
August 20
http://aaaea.org/il/event/aaaea-picnic-3/
September 10
http://aaaea.org/il/event/aaaea-picnic-4/
Interview of the Month (April-2015)
April 2015 : Hedaia Ahmad
1. Please introduce yourself:
education, background and family. My name is Hedaia Ahmad, I am currently a senior in the Illinois Institute of Technology. I will be graduating in a couple of weeks. My degree will be in Civil Engineering Specializing in Structural Engineering and Construction Management. I am currently the President of AAAEA IIT Student Chapter.
2. What activities did you have at your school recently?
AAAEA IIT Chapter has been very active this past year. Some of the events that we had this year the CAE Career Fair, Professional Resume Editing, Weekly AutoCad and Arabic Classes, Professional Startup Workshop, Taste of IIT, NASCC Steel Conference in TN, FE/PE Examination Preparation Lecture.
3. Please elaborate on the benefits of the interaction between students and professionals at AAAEA.
The benefits in my opinion would be two folds; build connections that would be useful in the future and Learn aspects of the field that only professionals would be exposed to. Since I am graduating this may, the IL Chapter helped me to connect to professionals and expand my network. Through this network I was able to meet many professionals with different backgrounds that were very interested in helping out. I am thankful for all AAAEA IL Chapter’s support and help they provided for our students.
4. What are the advantages of joining AAAEA while you are a student?
One big advantage is that you are granted the opportunity to attend the scheduled events all the professionals attend. This gives you the opportunity to network and build connections with these professionals, which could eventually lead to advances in your professional career. Also as a student you are granted massive discounts that professionals do not receive. Last but not least, as students we are granted the opportunity to be a part of more extracurricular activities outside of our university’s range, pushing us to higher standards of professionals we interact with. As a leader of AAAEA IIT Chapter and also the being the CMAA IIT President this year has tremendously expanded my leadership and team work skills. Serving the IIT community was a great experience for me and the active members that are involved in AAAEA. It really helped us to grow professionally and personally as young future engineers for our community. AAAEA is a great organization, it is my honor to serve and help this organization and make it a great resource for students and professionals in the near future. I am really looking forward to expand and promote AAAEA.
5. What do you think of having AAAEA student forum?
I believe that would offer a great opportunity to connect to the other chapters within the organization. It would make planning inter-chapter events a much smoother process as well.
6. What would you say was the best experience you've had during your time as the president of AAAEA?
If I had to choose I would say the Professional Startup Workshop 3-in-1 event where we informed students about the professional world and the tools required to attain a career in their prospective fields, we had three sessions in one day. We did a LinkedIn workshop, business card printing and a professional photo for students to have on their LinkedIn profile. These services were provided free for students and we had a professional to inform them about LinkedIn and business card tips, this event was a joint event along with CMAA, SEAOI IIT Chapters. The career fair earlier this semester was also very beneficial, we had around 15 companies and over 100 students signed up for this event. It was also a joint event with CMAA and ASCE. We are planning to make these two events part of AAAEA IIT Chapters events and I highly recommend all the AAAEA Student Chapter to do these events at their respective schools.
2015 Educational Spring Conference
2015 Educational Spring Conference
(4) Professional Development Hours
Presentation # 1:
The State of the Art in Previous Concrete
(By: Brian Lutey, VP of Sustainability and Compliance)
Presentation # 2:
Underground Detention Systems and Structural BMP Designs to Meet Local Regultions
(By: A.J. Margetis and Kevin Klein, Contech)
Presentation # 3:
Design Consideration for Rail Road Bridges
(By: Ahmad Hammad, Parsons Brinckerhoff)
Presentation # 4:
Soft Ground Tunneling, When is it a Good Design Idea
(By: Lewis Shapiro, J.D. Tunneling)
Presentation # 5:
Post-tensioned Systems for Structures
(By: Said Nour, DSI)
Presentation # 6:
IDOT Projects Formatting
The conference was a major success running from 8:30 in the morning to 2:00 in the afternoon. AAAEA offered coffee breaks and a small breakfast, but then ended the conference with a free lunch. The conference took place at HBM Engineering Group LLC location in Hillside, IL and the cost was only $20 for members and $25 for non-members. The organizer of the event was Mohsen Issa who is the Educational Chair Board member of AAAEA-IL.
2015 Annual Haflah
On March 21st AAAEA Illinois chapter hosted the 2015 Haflah at the Belvedere Chateau.The program started with opening comments from Issam Rayyan, the AAAEA-IL Activity Chair, leading to other thankful remarks by Anas Alkhatib, IL Chapter President, and Rabih Najib,National President.
Along with the presence of AAAEA presidents from neighboring chapters, 
Rabih Najib joined the Illinois Chapter at the Haflah enjoying the company of all members and nonmembers present at the event. Rabih welcomed and thanked everyone for taking their and for showing their support by buying tickets to join in the event and also asked everyone to enjoy their time by connecting with other people or by dancing with the music.
Lots of recognition was given to different student and young professional members who volunteered at different AAAEA-IL events and showed their support to the chapter. Some of the volunteers are the following:
IT Student volunteers: Abed Arnaout, Batool Al-Rifai, Faisal Abu-Jabal, Ragheed Basrawi
Engineering Week Volunteers: Hedaia Ahmad, Mohamed Esily, Mouna Abdulrazzak, Batool Al-Rifai.
Big Brother Big Sister Volunteers: Ahmad Issa, Rami Asfahani, Mustapha Al-Obaidi, Fadi Al-Shareef
Before dinner was served, everyone enjoyed a nice one round of fast Bingo that resulted in at least two people winning simple gifts. Following the bingo game (still before dinner) then multiple rounds after dinner, and during the 15mins break from dancing, lots of raffle prizes were handed away to the people present the event. At the end of the day, everyone enjoyed their time especially dancing the Dabki by music from DJ Firas. A lot of people won prizes including a 40” LCD TV from donated by Orland Advanced Dentistry Dr. Sawsan Asfour and the event was a good fun and exciting success.
- A. Rami Asfahani AAAEA-IL Membership Chair
Letter from AAAEA-Chicago to our Students in Illinois
Dear Student,
Congratulations on choosing a career in engineering, architecture, or information technology.
The Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects (AAAEA) is committed to supporting you throughout your college years and beyond. AAAEA is a professional, non-profit, non-religious, and non-political organization that was established in 1996 in Chicago, IL. Our mission stems from a realization of the demand for an organization that would address the specific needs of the Arab engineering professionals and the Arab community at large. AAAEA has a track record of technical seminars, conferences, and networking events, all of which will help strengthen your professional prospects. In addition, the association has established exam review classes for the Engineer-in-Training and Professional Engineer licenses. AAAEA has a number of other social events throughout the year for the whole family to participate.
As you endeavor for excellence in your profession, you can benefit from the scholarship program offered annually by the Association. The scholarship is awarded to students based on merit and extra-curricular activities. Awardees are recognized during the annual professional meeting which is a grand gathering of members and leaders in the industry. Seventeen years and growing strong, AAAEA now has chapters and sister associations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California. In 2011, we celebrated the formation of the National Association which will give you, as a member, access to a broader professional network.
I would like to wish you success in your profession, and I would highly encourage you to take advantage of the many benefits AAAEA has to offer by becoming a member. Build your leadership skills through volunteering and serving in the different committees within your chapter. I look forward to seeing you as an active member of the association. AAAEA will help shape your professional outlook as you prepare to shape the world.
Sincerely,
Anas Alkhatib
AAAEA - IL CHAPTER
IL 2013 Social Events
Upcoming Activities & Social Events for 2013 provided to you by AAAEA IL Activity Committee chaired by Issam Rayyan.
Dear AAAEA Members:
On behalf of the AAAEA Executive Board and as your activity committee chair, it gives me great pleasure to report that 2012 has been another successful and productive year for the organization at the local and the national level. In 2012, we have held several activities which brought AAAEA members and families together and has given everyone the opportunity to socialize and interact on a casual and professional basis in a relaxed and informal setting. Yet, 2013 will offer more activities to carry on the organization into wider horizons.
We have planned a comprehensive set of activities to offer and encourage everyone to take part in these upcoming activities among family members and professional associates. The intent of the activities is to attract as much as possible of the members. This is your organization and participation is always our full priority and objective. We are always open to suggestions for more activities and we will always listen and act so that our members get the full benefits out of the organization. We are always a phone call away and we welcome your ideas and suggestions.
Our 2013 upcoming activities include:
1. Hafleh: An evening of music, food, fun and surprises packaged as a formal “Hafleh” to be held on Saturday evening, March 23, 2013.
2. Picnics A total of 4 picnics to celebrate the warm summer of Illinois on 6/15/2013 (and welcome summer 2013), on 7/6/2013 (to celebrate Independence Day), on 8/17/2013 (to bid farewell to summer 2013) and on 9/1/2013 (to celebrate all our hard workers on Labor Day). These picnics provide families quality time to enjoy their time among their friends and colleagues and simply to make new friends.
3. Camping An interesting and unique camping experience in Wisconsin, tentatively scheduled for June 7, 2013. Details are still being worked out but we promise a fantastic time to all participants.
4. Semi-Annual Meeting at Drury Lane scheduled for November 7, 2013 promises a successful professional gathering and an opportunity to network.
For full list of 2013 Activities Click here
We are grateful to your continued participation and support of our organization and we all look forward to a prosperous year.
Sincerely,
Issam Rayyan
Chair, AAAEA IL Activities Committee