Dear All, I want to thank all who supported my decision to

run for president of the National AAAEA, I did

that with agenda to strengthen what brought us

together in the first place, our values, in addition

to growing our association’s membership,

exposure & visibility.

I want to take the opportunity to thank Rabih

Najib for his leadership as the National AAAEA

president for the past two years along with the

executive board, job well done.

I look forward to working with the newly elected

National Executive Board, Nader Abuhassan (VP),

Gus Nakhoul (Secretary), Jamal Grainawi

(Treasurer), Amro Kudssi (IT), Soliman Khudeira

(Education), Ammar Qashshu (Career) and Moe

Fridy (Publication) in addition to the Board of

Directors and the Chapter presidents moving us

ahead toward our common goal of serving our

members, our professional community and

strengthening our association.

I have a couple of items to report on:

Add hoc committees: By-Laws, Rabih Najib

was selected by the NEB to lead.

Outreach, Bilal Almasri was selected by

the NEB to lead. Other committees will

be formed in the near future.

National Conference 2016, location was

selected to be in Las Vegas. More

details to follow

GeoMEast 2017 International Conference,

the National AAAEA is cosponsoring

this highly anticipated conference

scheduled for July 15-19, 2017 in Sharm

El-Sheikh, Egypt (details to follow)

Outreach committees, 2016 started out with

Arizona forming a chapter and joining the

national, WELCOME, other outreach efforts are

ongoing with North Carolina and Ohio

I want to take a minute to thank our colleague,

Raed Milhem for his very generous donation of

$10,000 to the National scholarship fund in

addition to a pledge of $5000 annually. On

behalf of the National AAAEA, we thank you for

your trust in us and we hope this will be the

catalyst for other generous acts to follow. (See

full article).

I would like to close by inviting All our chapters

to actively participate in the AAAEA National

committees, the backbone of our association, it

would be great to have a representative from

each chapter on every one of the committees

listed above, the exchange of ideas benefit all

and participation is the best avenue for each

chapter to voice their opinion and be heard.

Hani AlMoghrabi

From the President’s Desk...

AlMuhandes F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

PUBLICATION

COMMITTEE:

Moe Fridy

(Chair)

Bilal Almasri

Amjad Obeid

A L M UH A NDE S

E - M A IL

almuhandes@naaaea.org

$ $ $

Monthly Publication of the National Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects

المهندس

CONTACT

AAAEA:

info@naaaea.org

www.naaaea.org

AAAEA-Texas News

P A G E 2 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

A L M U H A N D E S

THIS ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS

Scholarship Donation

PAGE 11

GeoMEast International Conference

PAGE 3

Interview—Ahmad Omais

PAGE 21

International Conference

P A G E 3 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

GeoMEast 2017

Dear AAAEA Members and Friends,

The National Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects

is a proud co-sponsor of the GeoMEast 2017 Conference in Sharm El-

Sheikh, Egypt between July 15 and 19, 2017.

Additional Information about the conference can be found using the

following link:

Click Here for more Info.

A L M U H A N D E S

2016 Summer Internship

P A G E 4 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

Civil/Construction Engineering Shell-Houston, TX

Shell is a global group of energy and petrochemicals companies with over 90,000 employees in more than 70 countries and territories. In the US, we have operated for over a century and are a major oil and gas producer onshore and in the Gulf of Mexico, a recognized innovator in exploration and production technology, and a leading manufacturer and marketer of fuels, natural gas and petrochemicals.

We deliver energy responsibly; operate safely with respect to our neighbors and work to minimize our environmental impact. We are in search for remarkable students interested in a career in Civil/Construction Engineering. By creating advanced technology solutions and deploying them at scale, you'll help Shell be a thought leader in designing the energy systems of tomorrow.

Where You’ll Intern

Houston, Texas

New Orleans, Louisiana

Assessed Internship Program Shell’s Assessed Internships consist of well-defined projects with clear objectives and deliverables that will allow you to work with a number of interesting and stimulating colleagues on projects that have a real business impact. You will gain valuable experience and skills to equip you for your future working career.

Program Objectives Our internships are carefully framed to allow you to benefit from regular performance evaluation and feedback throughout your time with us. We believe that looking at past and present behavior is a useful tool in understanding and predicting an individual’s future performance.

Taking part in a Shell Internship is a way for you to discover what Shell has to offer as an employer, and for us to see if you have what it takes to become a part of Shell. You will benefit from regular performance reviews that will enable you to enhance your strengths, while continuously building upon your development areas.

Minority, Female, Disabled and Veteran EEO/AA Employer

To learn more and apply online, visit www.shell.us/students . When entering your contact details, select ‘Other’ in response to ‘Where you found out about this Shell opportunity’ . Click ‘Next’ , and then type in “Intern 2016”. Job Type: Internship

Required experience: Actively enrolled student; will complete at least one more semester following internship; 3.2 GPA: 1 year

Required education: Master's

Apply!! http://www.shell.us/careers/students-and-graduates/shell-graduate-program.html?cid=:Display:Indeed:Americas_Grads:US-H1150116-techJPTextOther-link

A L M U H A N D E S

2016 Summer Internship

P A G E 5 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

Lockheed Martin

Hanover, Maryland

Please see below and share it with students that you know may be interested in this opportunity.

N9064:College Student Tech Spec

Req ID : 342601BR

Job Code/Title : N9064:College Student Tech Spec

Job Description

This is a 2016 summer engineering internship position under the Partner Programs portfolio. The selected candidate will be assigned a mentor/buddy to help him/her learn about our processes, practices and policies, and to acquire needed domain knowledge. The candidate should have at least theoretical/classroom experience with the system lifecycle (e.g., requirements analysis, system design, implementation, integration and test, and deployment). The candidate should be able to work in a team environment to assist in the integration and test activities, as directed. The candidate may be asked to create new or update existing documentation used in the system lifecycle. Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Basic Qualifications

Knowledge of engineering practices Understands the system lifecycle Good communication skills Knowledge of

the Linux operating system.

Desired Skills

Programming experience Scripting experience. As a leading technology innovation company, Lockheed Martin's team of 113,000 people works with partners

around the world to bring proven performance to our customers' toughest challenges. Lockheed Martin has

employees based in all 50 states and more than 570 facilities that span 70 countries.

Join us at Lockheed Martin, where we're engineering a better tomorrow.

See more at:

http://search.lockheedmartinjobs.com/ShowJob/Id/47663/College%20Student%20Tech%20Spec

A L M U H A N D E S

AAAEA-Wisconsin News

P A G E 6 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

Board Members

Election Results

Dear Members,

I would like to announce that the AAAEA - WI had conducted the elections for the AAAEA-WI Boards members, below you will find the new Members of the Board:

Aziz Aleiow - President

Nader Jaber - Vice President

Wafa Elqaq - Treasurer

Eyad Omari - Secretary

Basel Shehadeh - IT

Please note that the new vote for the WI Board term extension to 2 years instead of only one year had passed, and the Bylaws had been amended to reflect the change.

Congratulations, and good luck to the new Board.

Regards,

--

AAAEA- Wisconsin

A L M U H A N D E S

AAAEA-California News

P A G E 7 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

First 2016 Networking Luncheon

Featuring Dr. Issa Nesnas

Program

11:30 Registration and Networking

11:45 Lunch and Networking

12:00 Opening Remarks by AAAEA-CA President, Adel Hagekhalil

12:15 Membership Contribution

12:30 Speaker Presentation, Dr. Issa Nesnas Dr. Issa Nesnas is a principal technologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and supervisor of the Ro-botic Mobility group. He leads research in extreme terrain and microgravity mobility. Prior to that, he led a multi-center project for developing robotic autonomy software. He also contributed to developments in autonomous rover navigation and visual target tracking and participated in the development of the Curi-osity rover. He received a B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College in 1991, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in robotics from the Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Notre Dame in 1993 and 1995 respectively.

Planetary Robotic Exploration: Mobility and Autonomy The success of the Mars rovers has provided a wealth of information leading to major scientific discoveries. Planetary mobility has proved to be an invaluable tool of surface exploration, complementing orbital observations. In this talk, Dr. Nesnas will provide an overview of robotic mobility for a range of planetary bodies such as the Moon, Mars, aster-oids and comets. He will highlight advances in robotic autonomy that have contributed to the success of the Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rovers. Advances in robotic mobility and sampling would enable fu-ture access to extreme terrains such as crater walls, gullies, and skylights as well as provide mobility on small bodies. He will share results from recent rover field tests and flight experiments toward such future exploration.

A L M U H A N D E S

Saturday, February 27 11:30AM - 1:30PM

Arab American Community Center 907 S Beach Blvd, Anaheim CA 92804

Tickets: $25 Non-Member / $20 Member / $15 Student Free ticket with on-site membership registration

http://aaaea.org/sc/

AAAEA-Capital Area News

P A G E 8 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

General Brainstorming Meeting

Under the leadership of the 2016 Executive Board, the AAAEA Capital Chapter held two strategy meetings on January 30 and

February 18, in Maryland and Virginia, respectively, to kick-off 2016 with a great program of technical and social events. Our

members were spoiled by the hospitality of our Virginia hosts and were offered an excellent lunch and Kanafie. Several new

Committee Chairs were selected to lead the Membership, Education, By Laws, Social, Financial Review, and Election Com-

mittees. Our members are very excited this year to jump starts our Student Chapters in Maryland and Virginia. Also, the ma-

jority of the members expressed interest in providing educational seminars on non-technical topics to benefit start-up busi-

nesses with activities such as risk assessment, taxation planning, retirement planning, healthcare benefits, financial planning,

business insurance, stress management, and the like

Our By Laws Committee will review the current By Laws and attempt to streamline some of the provisions to be more in line

with how our Board of Trustees believes that we should operate. Practicality and simplicity will drive most of the proposed

changes. Our Social Committee has started to plan our picnic sometimes in June. If you are planning to be in the Washington

Metropolitan areas please visit our website so that view upcoming events. We are poised this year to seek students for the

scholarship awards. The Capital Chapter awarded five scholarships last year to students in the Maryland-Virginia-DC regions.

Ziad A. Sabra Ph.D

President- AAAEA Capital Area

A L M U H A N D E S

AAAEA-Chicago News

P A G E 9 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

2016 Haflah March 12, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Belvedere Chateau

A L M U

AAAEA-Houston News

P A G E 1 0 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

Networking and Social Events

Dear all,

AAAEA Houston would like to announce and invite all of you to attend our networking & social event : on Saturday March, 5th., 2016 in la Madeleine @ 10:30 AM

Address: 770 West Sam Houston Pkwy N, Houston, TX 77024

Phone:(713) 465-7370

Menu: viewmenu.com

Our second event will be on Saturday April, 2nd., 2016. The place will be announced later. A presenta-

tion/lecture will be made by Engineer Helmi Al-Jamal

(Owner of Center of Numerical Analysis Technology). More detailed information about Mr. Al-Jamal is available

https://www.linkedin.com/in/helmi-al-jamal-07508ba These events are for all of us. Please, please lets all attend and participate. Please feel free to distribute to others. Engineering and Information Technology Students are very welcomed and encouraged to attend . Professionals and members are expected to attend. This e mail is for AAAEA-Houston distribution list, if you would like NOT to receive future e mails, please reply back to : houston@aaaea.org with remove in the subject line.

Thanks,

Shareef M. Abushaban

Houston@aaaea.org

A L M U H A N D E S

NAAAEA

P A G E 1 1 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

New scholarship to our students

IN MEMORY OF MOHAMMAD AYYASH

MILHEM (1927-2015)

FIRST STANDING DONATION TO

THE NAAAEA's SCHOLORSHIP

FUND

Raed Milhem, has chosen to honor his father, Mr. Mohammad

Ayyash Milhem, through a donation to the National Arab American

Association of Engineers and Architects' Scholarship Fund. This

generous gift is the first such that we have received.

Mr. Raed Milhem has, through the Center for Arab American Phi-

lanthropy (CAAP), established a Donor Advised Account, to the benefit of our National Scholar-

ship Fund. Raed Milhem has donated an initial ten-thousand dollars ($10,000) to fund the Na-

tional Scholarship Fund, and has pledged five-thousand dollars annually.

This commitment is the first of its kind in the relatively short history of the National Arab Ameri-

can Association of Engineers and Architects. It reflects well upon our organization’s credibility.

And upon the quality and dedication of our members. Most importantly, this donation will help

educate qualified engineering, IT, and architecture students across the nation who apply for our

assistance. .

The late Mohammad Ayyash Milhem was born in Halloul, Palestine, in 1927. He was an attor-

ney and writer. Throughout his adult life, Mr. Milhem was civic minded leader and a champion

of human rights.

He will be missed and long remembered.

Bilal Almasri

A L M U H A N D E S

P A G E 1 2 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

A L M U H A N D E S

AAAEA –Business Directory

The National Arab American Association of Engineers & Architects is working on publishing its First Business Directory.

If you would like to be included in our first Business Directory, email us the following by September 30, 2015:

· Business Name

· Business Address (Street, City, State, Zip Code)

· Business Website

· Business Telephone

· Description of Your Business

· Business Category

· Your contact information

· Business Logo in High resolution Image Format

The directory will be published by the end of the year.

Cost: FREE to AAAEA members. $50 for non-members.

Email National Career Committee : career.center@naaaea.org

AlMuhandes Upcoming Deadlines

ARTICLES DEADLINE DATE PUBLICATION DATE

Thursday, March 24, 2016 Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Thursday, April 21, 2016 Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Thursday, May 26, 2016 Tuesday, May 31, 2016

P A G E 1 3 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

A L M U H A N D E S

AAAEA Online EIT/FE Review Course

Are you planning to take the EIT Exam?

AAAEA-Chicago offers online EIT/FE Preparation Videos.

The videos were previously recorded at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) campus. The lectures

taught by highly knowledgeable professionals and experts in their fields. These classes are designed

to help you prepare for the EIT/FE Exam and concentrate on in depth reviews and problem solving of

each of the topics listed below.

The videos are streamed online and can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection.

Study, learn, and review at your own pace around your own schedule.

The EIT (or FE) Exam is offered six times a year . Registration for the EIT exam is done through NCEES.

Please referrer to ncees.org for exam dates and registration methods.

Price:

Members: $100

Non-Members: $200

For More Information Email: education@aaaea.org

Video Topics: Instructor

Mechanics of Materials I Dr. Khudeira, PE, SE

Mechanics of Materials II Dr. Khudeira, PE, SE

Mathematics I Dr. Shuaibi

Mathematics II Dr. Shuaibi

Thermodynamics Mr. Ashraf Al Hayek

Probability & Statistics Dr. Shuaibi

Chemistry Dr. Aheda Saber

Statics Mr. Grainawi, PE, SE

Engineering Economics Mr. Bou-Saab, PE

Computer Science & Mr. Baha Al-Abed

Electrical Engineering Dr. Elqaq, PE

Dynamics- I Dr. Mahamid, PE

Dynamics- II Dr. Mahamid, PE

Fluid Mech. Dr. Mahmoud Issa, PE

P A G E 1 4 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

A L M U H A N D E S

Click to download your PDF copy

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Payment is due at the time of advertisement.

AlMuhandes is published on the last Tuesday of every month. Deadlines are on Thursdays

prior to the last Tuesday.

AlMuhandes is posted monthly at the National AAAEA website and emailed to over 2000

members & Friends.

National AAAEA - Identity Brochure 2016

AAAEA COMMUNITY IMPACT

Scholarship Program

P A G E 1 5 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

AAAEA Has contributed more than

$259,000

in Scholarships Nationwide to Arab American

Students between 2000-2015

A L M U H A N D E S

P A G E 1 6 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

SUPPORT AAAEA

Support AAAEA by shopping on Amazon

If you already shop on Amazon, we invite you to use smile.amazon.com and choose "Arab Americans Associ-ation for Engineers & Architects" as your charity of choice. The shopping experience is identical to Amazon.com with the added benefit that the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to AAAEA once selected as the charity of choice. Below are the steps to do that:

1- Visit smile.amazon.com

The entire shopping experience is the same and most products available on amazon.com are available at Ama-

zonSmile

2- Sign in and choose your charity

The screen will look slightly different depending on whether your not you’re already signed into Amazon. If you’re already signed in, Simply search for "Arab Americans Association for Engineers & Architects", and then proceed to step 3

You can also click on the following link to search for charitable organizations:

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/charity/change.html/ref=smi_se_abtpo_change_cycsc

f you’re not signed, enter your regular Amazon email address and password. Then do the above step, and then

proceed to step 3.

3- Select "Arab American Association For Engineers & Architects" in Chicago, IL

4- Start shopping, and share with your friends and relatives!

Once you've selected your charity everything else functions the same. Shop for your favorite products. Most

products are eligible on Amazon Smile–if not, you’ll be notified. You can checkout normally as well. No extra cost

is passed onto you–Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase to AAAEA!

A L M U H A N D E S

P A G E 1 7 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

METLIFE National Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects

Association Discount Program

MetLife’s Disability Insurance Association Discount Program offers you an opportunity to receive

high-quality coverage at discounted rates.

The program offers:

• 10% premium discount with gender-distinct rates1 and full underwriting.

• Noncancelable and Guaranteed Renewable coverage available. This means MetLife cannot cancel your coverage or in-

crease your premium before age 65 or 67, or five policy years if later, as long as your premiums are paid on time.2

• Opportunity to customize coverage with optional riders,3 such as:

> Your Occupation Rider – If a total disability prevents you from performing the material and substantial duties of your reg-

ular occupation, you could receive your full benefit even if you are able to work in another occupation.

> Residual Disability Rider – You can receive a partial disability benefit, under certain conditions, if a partial disability causes

you to lose a portion of your earnings (as specified in the rider).

> Catastrophic Disability Rider – Provides an additional monthly benefit if your condition meets the criteria of a cata-

strophic disability as set forth in the rider.4

> Guaranteed Insurability Benefit – Allows you to increase your coverage as your income increases over time, without any

medical underwriting at the time of increase. Financial underwriting is required to determine eligibility for an increase in

coverage.

> Life Event Rider – Allows you to apply for a one-time increase in coverage following a qualifying life event such as a pro-

motion from your employer; increase in the number of family members; or graduation from an accredited post-secondary

educational institution.5

> Cost of Living Adjustment Rider – Helps your benefits keep pace with inflation when a disability lasts more than one year.

For more information, contact :

Hussam Zayyad CFP® , MBA CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner Financial Services Representative

Metlife 2650 Warrenville Road, Suite 100 Downers Grove, IL 60515

Phone (630) 441-1268 Fax (630)725-1240

hzayyad@metlife.com

Website: www.HussamZayyad.com

A L M U H A N D E S

P A G E 1 8 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

METLIFE Guaranteed Level Term

Designed to Deliver Financial Protection When It’s Needed Most

A L M U H A N D E S

P A G E 1 9 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

A L M U H A N D E S

APPEAL FROM ALMUHANDES

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ENGINEERING

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Email your contributions to:

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Members Only Discount – Exclusive savings on all your local professional networking and professional development costs,

Job Opportunities – Don’t be left out! Exclusive job opportunities in the USA and the Middle East

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Continuing Education Programs – Gain confidence in your abilities by keeping yourself knowledgeable and relevant as a professional while also getting members-only free or reduced cost PDH certificates.

Scholarship Program – Our scholarship program is growing and we have so far awarded over $259,000 of scholarship money to students all over the United States.

P A G E 2 0 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

A L M U H A N D E S

National AAAEA (NAAAEA) is the publishing organization of AlMuhandes; NAAAEA is a non-profit organization working to help its members as well as the community as a whole.

AlMuhandes is downloadable and FREE through direct email to all AAAEA members & friends, and available on the NAAAEA Web site; any content in the AlMuhandes newsletters is used for informative or educational purposes only.

AlMuhandes is published on the last Tuesday of every month.

All news and articles must be e-mailed to almuhandes@naaaea.org by the Thursday prior to the publishing day.

All chapters must update their e-mail list in order to ensure the distribution of AlMuhandes to all their members.

Rules for sending articles, pictures, etc.: 1. Articles should be sent in their original format in any Microsoft

Office software instead of PDF. 2. Pictures should be sent in any original picture format, and not

placed in a PDF. 3. Announcements and email letters of any kind should be sent using

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the Constant Contact “forward” button at the bottom of the email instead of your e-mail “forward” button.

5. We reserve the right not to publish any material sent.

Any questions, concerns or feedback regarding AlMuhandes should be emailed to almuhandes@naaaea.org

AlMuhandes Notes

P A G E 2 1

Interview of the Month– Ahmad Omais

1- Please introduce yourself: education, background and family......

I was born in Lebanon. I have a masters degree from Marquette University and a Bachelors from University of Toledo. I have been in the transportation field for the past 30 years. I have worked for Wisconsin DOT, Arizona DOT and currently for Kimley -Horn for the past 20 years.

I am married and have two girls and a boy (18, 15, and 11)

2-Briefly,please share with us the history of the efforts to form a chapter in Arizona?

The journey started about a year ago when Marwan Tamimi was trying to find a venue for getting the Arab community together. While talking to one of his friends, he ran across the AAAEA and Marwan thought that it was the ideal opportunity. He connected with Bilal Almasri and started discussing starting a chapter in Arizona. Bilal then recruited Ahmad Omais who in turn recruited Lina Bearat and the steering team started working on getting the chapter going. The group had several discussions and set a goal for a kick-off in January.

3- As the first president of AAAEA -Arizona ,what is the latest their and what are the plans for the future.

We are orienting ourselves and forming the team. We had our first meeting last month and decide d to meet monthly for now. We are planning a spring picnic and our focus is on recruiting additional members.

4- It is a continued struggle to keep members involved and connected, what ideas you can propose to deal with this continued challenge.

I think we need to find activities that people would be interested in and attract their attention. We are brainstorming the kind of things we can do and will be see eying members along with other chapters to find out what works best.

A L M U H A N D E S

Ah

mad

Om

ais

P A G E 2 2

Interview of the Month– Continued

5- Do you read ALMUHANDES, what do you think of it. Can you contribute to it in the future?

I have read one issue and a bit early to formulate an opinion. I will look at future issues and see how I can contribute.

A L M U H A N D E S

Ah

mad

Om

ais

P A G E 2 3 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

A L M U H A N D E S

With the erratic fluctuation of the market at the tail end of

2015 and the first few weeks of 2016, the vivid memory of

what happened in the second half of 2007 and 2008 when

the market went south close to 50 percent. Investors are

becoming jittery. The question that comes to mind how are

we building our nest egg, our retirement? Is it on a solid

financial foundation?

The Financial Foundation is very simple and made up of

four building blocks that are very-interconnected and starts

from the grounds up similar to building a good home on a

solid foundation.

Block I: Insurance (various types). In our society we got accustomed to insure anything

and everything. We insure a car (it’s the law) just in case we get into an accident so we could

repair it or replace it. We insure our smart phones just in case it gets dropped and need a fix or a

replacement. The big one and the most outrageous is when we insure our mortgage (a

requirement to secure a loan), whose benefit are we insuring here? The bank or the lender just in

case we default so that they could secure their money.

So every Monday morning, most of people hit the freeways to work, what happen if you get in a

car accident and heaven forbid the accident was fatal. Now tell me which is the most valuable

investment to your family and loved ones? The “expensive” wrinkled car, the smart phone that

broke into pieces that both could be replaced or fixed or is it the income that you brought home

every two weeks and provided a life style to your family that paid their basic necessity of life?

Can you replace a human being once he or she is gone? The bread winner in the family is the

ultimate investment and should be protected or insured to provide an income replacement to the

family just in case the bread winner and the income are both gone.

Block II: Debt management and elimination. We live in a society that taught us to buy now

and worry later. Every holiday season people get their plastic cards and go shopping with deep

hunger not worrying about the hefty interest rates that these credit card companies charge. The

old saying still applies “live within your mean” is long forgotten. The “bargains” of black Friday

wind up costing us double or triple the prices once we factor all the interests we paid. It does not

make sense to start a saving plan earning few percent when the credit card companies are

charging you 19, 21, 25 percent. Mathematically it does not make any sense. You are better off

paying down your debt and then start saving because “plastic money” will cost you dearly if you

just make the minimum payment.

Building for your future on a solid Financial Foundation !

P A G E 2 4 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

A L M U H A N D E S

Block III: Short term savings or Emergency Fund is basically liquid money you could

access it on instant notice. At a minimum, a household should have six (6) months its monthly

expenses saved (i.e. rent, mortgage, food, utilities etc.). Why six months? Just in case you lose

your job or you are transitioning between jobs. Does life stop when you cease to draw an

income? Of course not! What happened in 2008, people were living beyond their means, using

their homes as an ATM to draw equity for new purchases, vacations, no saving whatsoever.

Then the inevitable happened, got the pink slip, the following week the mortgage came due, no

short term savings or what we call emergency fund, 90- days behind on mortgage payments and

the bank foreclosed. This is was not a soap opera; it happened not too long ago and contributed

to the Housing Market crash. Too many foreclosures were on the market not too many takers, a

textbook of supply and demands in free market economy that brought the price of homes

tumbling down.

Block IV: Long term savings (Long Term is defined 15+ years) should serve two purposes,

first one if you have kids, 18 years later they will be going to college. To that end I suggest you

do your own research on the cost of higher education on an average figure out $25,000 per year

(NOT a private or an Ivy League school). The second purpose for long term savings is

RETIREMENT. A simple scenario, you retire at age 65 and you live to be 85 years old. The

big question, do you have enough cash to sustain your life style for 20 years? If the answer is

negative, then you need to rethink your retirement strategy. For some who are banking on Social

Security to contribute or supplement their retirement, they are in for a big surprise. In a free

society government is not responsible for one’s retirement, WE ARE At a minimum, 10 -15

percent of the household earnings should be set aside for long term savings. Most individuals do

not plan to fail but they fail the plan. We spend week planning a vacation, months preparing for a

wedding. How about planning for your life, have you consulted with a financial professional lately

to make sure your numbers add up? We all have busy, days, busy weekends, do not let life goes

by you not knowing the outcome of your retirement. Take a breather sit with financial consultant

and device a financial roadmap for you and your family. The Financial Foundation starts from the

ground up with the Insurance (Income Replacement) first all the way to Investments. Most people

starts at the top which odd you never build your home from the top down rather than starting with

a solid rock foundation first

Gus Nakhoul

Investment Advisor Representative

714-249-8100

Building for your future—Continued

P A G E 2 5 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

A L M U H A N D E S

Do you need to evaluate your degree? Why? How much does it cost?

http://ncees.org/credentials-evaluations/

What is the NCEES Engineering Education Standard that is used to evaluate your

credential?

http://ncees.org/credentials-evaluations/ncees-engineering-education-standard/

Step by step instructions for the process:

http://ncees.org/credentials-evaluations/the-evaluation-process/

I got my degree evaluated. Now what?

It is important to note that NCEES does not make decisions regarding licensure. The appropriate licensing

board will make any decision regarding your eligibility to sit for a licensing exam.

You can send your evaluation results to a licensing board of a specific state (or more) in order to proceed

with the application for sitting for an exam, such as FE or PE. Not every state requires a degree evaluation

PRIOR to taking the exam, (i.e. you can sit for the exam before the degree evaluation), but they might/will

require it to issue the license, along with other requirements for each license (EIT, PE).

How can I contact the licensing board in my state?

http://ncees.org/licensing-boards/

Notes:

The requirements from a state to another are different. Some states are not as stringent as other,

particularly in deciding when you can sit for an exam.

The NCEES evaluation might state that you have a deficit in the credit hours in a certain area

(Mathematics, Humanitarian, Science,… etc.), but the licensing board of your state might decide

that the deficit is more, according to the state’s rules and regulations of licensure. For example, the

professional engineering rules and regulations for the state of Illinois can be found at this link:

http://www.idfpr.com/profs/ProfEngineer.asp

Good Luck,

Fadi Alsharif

Fadisharif@yahoo.com

Engineering Degrees Evaluations

P A G E 2 6 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

A L M U H A N D E S

Kuwait Prize 2016

P A G E 2 7 V O L U M E X I S S U E I I

A L M U H A N D E S

AAAEA is going to North Carolina

You can help by providing contact information of engineers who may be relatives, colleagues,

or friends.

Forward to Mr. Bilal Almasri

National Outreach Committee

Chairman

Outreach@naaaea.org

AAAEA Mission Statement

AAAEA is a professional Arab American association dedicated to help, strengthen, empower and inspire its

members for excellence. AAAEA promotes and advocates the Arab American Engineers, Architects and Computer

Science professionals in North America, by providing career and educational enhancement programs, technical

exchange, fellowship, and community service. AAAEA is a non-profit, non-political and non-religious Professional

Association. Membership is open to corporations, academic, professional institutions, and qualified individuals.

Ferdinand Cheval Palace a.k.a Ideal Palace (France)

Cheval began the building in April 1879. He claimed that he had tripped on a stone and was inspired by its shape. He re-turned to the same spot the next day and started collecting stones.

For the next 33 years, during his daily mail route, Cheval carried stones from his delivery rounds and at home used them to build his Palais idéal, the Ideal Palace. First he carried the stones in his pockets, then a basket and eventually a wheelbarrow. He often worked at night, by the light of an oil lamp.

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