Personal Narrative: My Interview With A Mentor

Learning from a mentor is one of the most effective ways to accelerate and further your knowledge. Mentors will help inspire and guide you to be successful. As engineering students we can learn vital information about the field we want to specialize in by talking to someone who works in that field.

Mostafa Abo Tabeikh is the civil engineer I chose to interview. He is an Alexandria University graduate, with one year of expertise, and works as a construction project manager in Alexandria, Egypt. Working with El Shams Company for contracting, he currently is a team member that is responsible for managing the construction of 5 residential buildings.

I initiated contact with Mostafa by sending him an email on the 20th regarding my assignment along with a list of questions that I thought about extensively. He was able to answer my questions fully and clearly through the email I received on the 24th.

Mostafa’s role in his company requires a diverse set of skills. His team is involved with scheduling the project to meet specific deadlines, determining labor requirements and obtaining all necessary permits and licenses. Technical skills involve using the program Microsoft Project, which he told me required 2 weeks of training to understand. Microsoft Project is used to evaluate construction methods, determine cost-effectiveness, and develop and implement quality control programs. This program is vital to monitor and manage risks. Managing risks depends on priorities set by the company. His company usually depends on the strategy of minimizing the risks by lowering the effect of the consequences, which include late delivery penalties to the vendor. The nature of his work heavily depends on this