{"id":468721,"date":"2010-03-25T21:55:44","date_gmt":"2010-03-26T01:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"tag:www.eng.wayne.edu:\/\/32103ff7655e24867ef4be6b58b7c2e0"},"modified":"2010-03-25T21:55:44","modified_gmt":"2010-03-26T01:55:44","slug":"mark-nasr-bscee07-mscee07","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/468721","title":{"rendered":"Mark Nasr, BSCEE’07, MSCEE’07"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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\n Engineering graduate Mark Nasr speaks at the 2007 groundbreaking ceremony for the Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

by Derrick Bean
\nCOE Public Affairs Writer<\/p>\n

Mark Nasr is a Wayne State University graduate, BSCE’07 and MSCE’07, and he will soon have a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM). When he begins practicing law, he will use the experience he gained as an engineering student.<\/p>\n

Nasr says he benefits from everything he learned at WSU’s College of Engineering. He attended Wayne State from 2003 to 2007, graduating Magna Cum Laude at the top of his civil engineering class. “I think that you have to be a leader in the classroom,” he says. “It starts in these halls.”<\/p>\n

Nasr was Engineering Student Faculty Board (ESFB) president for three years. He returned March 10 to his old stomping grounds and an ESFB meeting to talk to the current generation of student leaders and a few of his old administrators, Gerald Thompkins, associate dean of student affairs, and Michele Grimm, associate dean for academic affairs.<\/p>\n

“The critical thinking skills I learned helped me immensely during law school, specifically in my ability to evaluate every aspect and facet of a situation,” he says. “In my opinion, it is not the degree itself, but what is associated with it — the way one learns to think and to find a solution to even the most difficult questions.”<\/p>\n

Nasr says it’s not always what you know. “Life starts outside of these walls, but it’s built on what you do inside these walls,” he says. “You build life through your experiences. It’s a blessing to be at Wayne State. When I was here, my friends from other schools told me they were rarely able to speak to their administrators, deans, etc. Your administration is always available to you. And I was never disappointed in my four years here.”<\/p>\n

Nasr first learned how to be a leader in high school. “I looked at what people did before me and learned from it: the good and the bad, what to do and what not to do,” he says.<\/p>\n

Grimm says more alumni should be like Nasr and give back. “You need to stay connected and involved after you graduate,” she says. “Don’t run away and never come back.”<\/p>\n

Nasr, 24, plans to get his law degree from UDM in May. After mulling over whether to attend WSU’s or UDM’s law school, and discussing these options with his WSU mentors, Nasr decided to take advantage of a Dean’s 2\/3 tuition scholarship to UDM’s law school. “I love WSU, but do not regret going to UDM at all; it has been a great experience these last three years,” he says.<\/p>\n

After graduating from Wayne State, Nasr worked for seven months as an engineer with
\nDesai\/Nasr Consulting Engineers. His father is a partner in the company. His job was to prepare design calculations, review and edit shop drawings, and visit construction job sites. But he grew tired of sitting behind a desk and began to feel that he wasn’t maximizing all of his abilities.<\/p>\n

“I knew law was what I wanted to do,” he says, “because I like to speak. I’m very personal. I couldn’t sit behind a desk looking at blueprints and shop drawings all day.”<\/p>\n

One year into law school, Nasr landed a part-time job with a local law firm where both sides of his education could be put to good use. He worked directly on issues concerning engineers and contractors. <\/p>\n

During his second year at UDM, Nasr participated in on-campus interviews with law firms. “If you don’t think engineering makes a difference, you’re wrong,” he says. “They didn’t ask about anything as much as engineering because it stands out.”<\/p>\n

An interview with his current employer — Plunkett Cooney, P.C., a law firm based in Bloomfield Hills — gave Nasr the opportunity he was looking for.<\/p>\n

He advises the current generation of aspiring engineers to use their heads. “Take advantage of the opportunities you have while at WSU’s College of Engineering,” he says. “Place academics first and be active. This will set the foundation for your future as an engineer or elsewhere.”<\/p>\n

As far as stepping outside of engineering, Nasr says you should follow your heart. “Use your talents,” he says. “Don’t leave the field because you think you have to, or because of the poor economy. Good engineers will always be needed.”<\/p>\n

Nasr plans to practice law as an attorney for Plunkett Cooney, P.C. once he passes the State Bar of Michigan, which he plans to take in July.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Engineering graduate Mark Nasr speaks at the 2007 groundbreaking ceremony for the Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center by Derrick Bean COE Public Affairs Writer Mark Nasr is a Wayne State University graduate, BSCE’07 and MSCE’07, and he will soon have a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM). When he begins practicing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3325,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-468721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468721\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}