Alpha Eritrean Engineers Community

June 2010

ROLES OF PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

FEW AMONG US

WHAT YOU DO IS WHAT YOU ARE

VISION OF MYSELF

e
 CONTENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS
ROLE OF PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
BY Y ARED N UGSSIE
FEW AMONG US
BY YOSIEF WOLDEMARIAM
EDITORS
Sable Gebremedhin, M.S. Psychology
Adiam Woldegergish, Ph.D
Jack Lin, P.E., LEED AP
Samson Gonnetz, C.E. and

Yosief Woldemariam, E.E.

WHAT YOU DO IS WHAT YOU ARE
BY S AMSON G ONNETZ

VISION OF MYSELF
BY I SAAC M ESGHENA

AEEC | June 2010 2

Roles of Professional Organizations
In my opinion, the biggest invention of the 20th century
is the Internet; the flow of information has made
Internet invaluable. The Internet is greatly credited to
the availability of Information; however, information
and Internet go hand in hand; they cannot exist without
each other. The rapid technological advancement of the
last decade has thought us the power of information. It
is the most important currency of our time.
As the decade wind down, it is clear the value of
information has increased. We live in information age.
Information disseminates in various ways and, our
livelihood is increasingly becoming dependent on
information. The ‘movers and shakers’ of our time
know where to find information, and how to use the
information they harvest. Our contribution in the
world, will be determined on how we use the
information we have.
“The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual. “
AEEC | June 2010
When I received the information about the creation of
AEEC, I was elated to say the list. The information
superhighway has made it easier for those of us who
live in different part of the world, to network and share
information amongst each other. Although, it is yet in
its infancy, AEEC has great opportunity to make
information available to Eritreans who share similar
interest and background. Such organizations play
greatest role in making sure the right information
reaches to the appropriate people.
As we face the upcoming decade, we need to sharpen
and make clear the goals we expect to achieve. I hope
we pledge and work hard to create the strongest
network, to share knowledge to expand our knowledge,
share information to help each other weather the current
economical turmoil and rich our younger brothers and
sisters to help them succeed in achieving their academic
dreams.
~ Yared Nugssie, CE
~ Vince Lombardi
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Few Among Us

There are few individuals amongst us who diligently Even though Engineer Daniel understands some of his
work to make a difference in someone’s life. It is fellow engineers recently experienced temporary
evident from the testimony of his colleagues that setbacks, we hope he enjoyed the experience of seeing
Engineer Daniel Woldeselasie is endowed with them working on his side.
relentless courage and profound ability to make a Engineer Daniel richly deserves high regards and
difference in others. His exceptional work during the admiration expressed by his associates. His strong
past few years clearly warrants this testimonial article. professional standards set a shining example of our
It is said that he has the passion, interest and ambitions for Alpha Eritrean Engineers Community. It
commitment to see his fellow engineers be given an is therefore, we take this opportunity to select for our 1st
opportunity to show what they are made of; and to this online magazine publication and express our
end he worked relentlessly until more than ten of his appreciation for the tireless efforts, unfading loyalty,
colleagues got the opportunity to prove themselves as and devotion to fellow engineers Daniel provided.
strong professionals. Engineer Daniel shows eloquence, ~ Yosief Woldemariam, EE
courage and convictions and exercises them daily
Hard to reach doesn’t have to mean hard to do
within his profession. His colleagues immensely
appreciate his unrelenting effort in assisting them
receive professional advice and opportunities. His
A
fellow engineers also speak of him with pride, E
satisfaction and admiration. He is described as
E
rendering an invaluable service to his fellow engineers.
C
Once someone commits his/her time and effort to
something, however bizarre it may seem to other
people, he or she should appreciate and enjoy the
Bringing the best and the brightest together
experience.
“A good example has twice the value of good advice.” ~ Author Unknown

AEEC | June 2010 4

What You Do Is What You Are
From my own experience, as a new young engineer, the
first job right after college is very challenging. In order to
cultivate the kind of experience needed, the choice of the
first job should be selected for the quality and kind of
experience it can offer. To those of you who are
engineering students and seeking quality engineering
experience necessary you should be more practical.
I know that this advice runs counter to much of your
thinking. You are interested in security, and you are likely
to interview the interviewers who came to discuss
employment with you. You are likely to be connected with
the salary, with the extreme benefits, with the opportunities
for advancement in the company, and even with the
retirement system. I say to you this is no way to build
security. Your real security will lie in your ability as
engineers, which in turn lie in experience you gain from
the start. Therefore, your security lies in following out a
program deliberately planned to improve your judgment. If
one organization can give you a breadth experience, well
and good. If it cannot, plan on considering changing
organizations in order to achieve the verity you need. For
example, If you were to become a geotechnical engineer, I
would tell you how advisable it would be to work for a
year or so on construction jobs where you are in immediate
contact with the soil and with the people who actually build
foundations. I would suggest an experience in a soil
mechanics laboratory. I would not be persuaded by the
argument that a young man should not float too much from
job to job. To be sure, he should not float, but he should
move with purpose from job to job to fill out all sides of
his experience.
“One's real life is often the life that one does not lead.”
AEEC | June 2010
If a job, no matter how good the salary or the pension plan,
does not offer opportunity for new knowledge, the job is
not good experience. Your employer cannot be expected to
direct your efforts for well-rounded experience. To be sure,
some employers do, and employment under such
circumstances is a most fortunate event. However, it is
your carrier and your responsibility to plan it and work it
out. Make the most of your opportunity here. You are not
likely to have better chance than now to devote yourself
completely to a systematic study of your chosen subject
and those related to it. You need to become as well versed
as you can because what you do is what you are.
I am sorry that these have been taken from the civil
engineering field experience. I am aware that the nature of
civil engineering in general differs from that of other
engineering professions, but I think the principles I have
tried to illustrate are valid and I am sure those of you in
other fields will think of parallel situations more
meaningful to you. After all, it is to the advantage of your
employer to develop your capabilities as much as possible.
On the other hand such an undirected course may omit vital
aspects of experience without which your effectiveness as
an engineer will ultimately be reduced.
Employment selected for experience, self-discipline of
private study and cultivation of your powers of
observation, must necessarily improve your knowledge and
judgment. In the long run, your greatest rewards both
financially and career satisfaction, will follow based on the
course of action you take.
~ Samson Gonets, CE
~ Oscar Wilde
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Vision of Myself
One of the most important things of the future is to
have a direction. In my case, deciding what field of
engineering I wanted to study was the beginning of
looking within me to find out what I was good at. Once
I figured that out, I envisioned the potential of
becoming a Mechanical Engineer. To put in practice
my vision of myself, I have adapted a habit of studying
very hard and asking questions to my professors and
class-mates.
After looking for a school that offers a program for the
field that I was interested at, I found it very convenient
in almost everything to enroll in California Maritime
Academy. At the beginning, like everybody else, it was
not very difficult to find out that I had distorted image
of the University system. Working full time to support
myself and attending campus with all the assignments,
presentations, and deadlines, I had to work very hard to
adjust to the system of the campus by studying day and
night diligently and manage to elevate myself to a
status where I felt comfortable. Of course my class-
mates and professors played important roles. As time
went by, I became very familiar with the campus.
While taking some classes I started engaging with
students of
“A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become
something more.”
AEEC | June 2010
different background, formed a study group and got to
know me well.
As we started studying, solving problems and at times
arguing about some design, which is the most important
part of engineering and I realized the importance of
being an active member of the engineering community.
Besides of the lower division classes that I took before
attending the University, being active participant in
every substantive discussions and studies were very
instrumental in helping me excel on the upper-level
courses. Being persistent in asking too many questions
whenever I came across with difficult problems also
helped me a great deal to understand engineering in a
deeper level.
Along the way there were some setbacks and sleepless
nights, however, accomplishing the vision that I set out
for myself by never abandoned the habits that I
developed during the course of my education life in
campus and see myself on the finish line with a lot of
Engineers is pleasurable feeling and priceless.
~ Isaac Mesghena, ME
~ Rosabeth Moss
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About the authors
Yared Nugssie (negussie@gmail.com) received
his B.S. in Computer Engineering from Chico
California State University and he is on his way Got an Engineering experiences to share?
to get M.S. in Information Systems.
All you need to do is put them in writing
Yosief Woldemariam (Meharigrw@yahoo.com) with not less than 250 and not more than
earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from 650 words. We will put them on
San Francisco State University. subsequent issues.
Samson Gonnetz (samigonntz@yahoo.com)
Send them to:
received his B.S. in civil Engineering from San
Francisco State University. <Alpha0909@gmail.com>
Isaac Mesghena (isaacmesghena@gmail.com)
earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from
California Maritime Academy.

AEEC | June 2010 7