Even as a child, Hussein Mohd wanted to help find solutions to the structural problems his dad faced as a civil engineer.
“I remember coming to him and asking him what’s going on and he told me what was going on at a site and he explained it to me,” Mohd said of his father, who works for Princeton Technical Services. “I saw he was trying to find a solution and I would ask about that solution and how he would solve the problem.”
That early inspiration helped Mohd, who lives in Tinley Park, work toward his current job as a structural civil engineer for the international firm Ardmore Roderick, where he’s now tasked with improving access to the Obama Presidential Center under construction in Hyde Park.
He’s guiding workers as they reconstruct and widen an area that includes south Stony Island Avenue between 59th Street and 64th Street into two lanes in each direction. It will have a planted median and additional safety features for pedestrians.
The work also includes removal and closure of south Cornell Drive between Midway Plaisance and Hayes Drive, which Mohd said would allow for more green space around the center in Jackson Park. There also will be three new underpasses under Hayes and Cornell drives for improved pedestrian access to the new center.
“The area is going to be very busy, so we have to take care of everything around it to make sure everyone is safe, there is accessibility to everyone and no traffic,” Mohd said.
Hussein Mohd, of Tinley Park, stands near a. new underpass being installed to improve access to the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park in Chicago.
Other improvements include widening of south DuSable Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive, adding an additional lane and resurfacing from east 57th Drive to east Hayes Drive, rehabilitation of the 57th Street pedestrian underpass, reconstruction of the east 57th Drive retaining wall, widening of east 59th Street pedestrian underpass, widening of the east 59th Street inlet bridge and widening of the east 63rd Street pedestrian underpass.
“My job is very rewarding to see what was on a plan come to life,” Mohd said.
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His job is also time consuming and he can often be found on site seven days a week, working toward a completion date goal of June 30.
“I don’t do the design itself, I’m the structural engineer who makes sure they go according to this plan in the right way without any mistakes,” Mohd said. “Safety is a major issue, we don’t want anything to happen in the future that affects pedestrians or traffic.”
Mohd’s career path wasn’t always a smooth journey, and one of his first steps after emigrating seven years ago from Jordan with his parents, two brothers and sister was learning English at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills. He also needed help finding the right courses to transfer to the Department of Civil, Materials and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago to earn a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.
His adviser at MVCC said he didn’t miss a beat.
“You’re learning a whole new culture and you’ve got a language barrier, culture barrier, you’ve got all these things that are one extra barrier to getting to where you want to be,” said Aurora Medina Zwick, manager of the English Language Learner Center. “He pretty much was like, OK, this is what I’ve got to do, and he did it, so that was great.”
“He was pretty driven and he was a student who took it seriously,” said Zwick, adding he was very friendly and receptive to advice.
Mohd said Zwick was indispensable in helping him take the right courses but also communicating with UIC to be sure he got the prerequisites he needed. He started out working in a store and said his adviser also helped him manage his schedule.
“MVCC will always have a special place in my heart as it presented the start of my educational journey here in the U.S.,” Mohd said. “It allowed me to meet the lifelong friends and encouraging mentors — to start over and become the engineer I am today.”
Hossein Ataei, who directs the Construction Engineering and Management Program at UIC, said he wasn’t surprised by Mohd’s success.
Mohd took his Construction Engineering and Management class, now part of a master’s degree curriculum there.
His senior design professor was Christopher Burke, CEO of Christopher Burke Engineering and his Capstone Project was “Ductility in Pavement.”
The curriculum included budgeting, planning, scheduling risk, quality and stakeholder management, as well as gauging the impact of projects on the community.
“This actually gives us great insight into our students to not only do the engineering design but also evaluate the community impact of their project, as well,” said Ataei, also clinical associate professor and director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering at UIC.
Ataei said preparation at UIC gave Mohd many of his tools for success.
“I’m really proud of him and his accomplishments,” said Ataei. “He was one of our star students.”
Mohd said he continues to marvel at the surprises his work brings him.
“I see something new every day, there are many unforeseen conditions you have to deal with,” said Mohd. That’s why I like it — you can find many solutions but what is the solution you are going to take?”
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.