Challenge as the Foundation for Success: Rashed Islam Reflects on Grad School as an International Student
Rashed Islam (MSCE ’96) credits his family, friends and mentors for his success.
For many students, the college experience has a profoundly deeper meaning than just late night studying, blowing off steam, and living away from home. It can mean not only learning how to adapt to a challenging, new environment but how to thrive. For Rashed T. Islam (MSCE ‘96), a Vice President at HDR|WHM Transportation Engineering and native of Dhaka, Bangladesh, his days of graduate school at CAEE are still a source of strength and vivid memories.
Engineering seemed like a natural fit for Rashed since the father he looked up to was a practicing civil engineer. He also knew that as a detail-oriented person, he could possibly be a good engineer. While he applied to UT-Austin for his Bachelor’s degree, he was not able to attend until graduate school due to the financial cost of leaving home. But he always had UT in the back of his mind and decided to apply for grad school with a focus in transportation engineering. This area was of interest to him because he wanted to help solve the transportation/traffic woes of his native country. He also had a feeling that the traffic and transportation industry will continue to evolve in terms of new technology and that managing travel demands as transportation funding diminishes will also be of paramount importance.
With his heart set on UT, Rashed waited to hear back from the university until one day he called to check on the status of his application. He recalls, “Kathy Rose, Graduate Admissions Advisor, gave me some of the best news of my life: YES, my application was approved and I have been given admission to the Civil Department. I guess I was destined to come to UT because I completed all my travel formalities and arrived at the campus within a month!”
Just getting to UT was half the battle. Having come from a country lacking in advanced educational resources, Rashed felt like he was “thrown into the deeper end of the pool”. He quickly realized how challenging it was to deal with a different culture, the language barrier, financial struggles and to get acclimated with the advanced technologies the department offered.
But he had help. While working under the guidance of Dr. Randy Machemehl, he learned that resolve and hard work during adversity always pays off. By staying focused, putting forth his best efforts and relying on encouragement from Dr. Machemehl and his parents, he made it through grad school with flying colors. To this day, he still looks to his professor for advice and feels tremendous pride in knowing that he finished a top-ranked program with a 4.0 GPA having come from a developing country.
Rashed believes that hard work and a well-defined goal are also keys to success after graduation. He says, “Always challenge yourself for something new, something better. Never get comfortable with where you are because that can throw you off base. Build relationships and friendships and don’t chase after money but rather try to enjoy work and the people around you.” He is very appreciative of the friends and mentors he has had in his life and gives all the credit to them for his success.
For the past 15 years, he has worked his way up within the HDR|WHM Transportation Engineering firm and now manages HDR’s Traffic Engineering Program in Texas. The firm provides professional traffic engineering services to state DOTs, cities, counties and different private sector clients including Dell, AMD, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Endeavor, Prologis and many developers. Islam has specialized in traffic Microsimulation modeling which has revolutionized the way traffic operational analysis of streets and intersections is performed. He is pleased to have witnessed how the animation capabilities of models has given traffic engineers the capability to convey traffic results more effectively to non-technical audience.
As a Vice President at HDR|WHM, Rashed assisted with the transportation planning for Austin’s Mueller Redevelopment Project, a sustainable community located at the site of a former municipal airport.
Rashed has worked on many interesting projects throughout his career, including Austin’s Mueller Redevelopment Project, where he was involved in the planning and implementation of the traffic engineering elements. In the beginning, he conducted an analysis that evaluated the compatibility and synergy of various proposed land uses from a transportation perspective. The impact of traffic generated by the project was evaluated to determine on-site roadway cross-section needs as well as external impacts of redevelopment of the site. An important factor he also had to consider was the role of public transportation including bus service, future rail, and internal bus/van circulation. These factors were emphasized in the design of the roadways, rail system, and pedestrian networks within the site.
Through his participation in the Mueller Redevelopment Project and many others, he has learned that as engineer, it is critical to have a sound technical background on the intricacies of the field. Proper technical knowledge has given him confidence in his abilities which resulted in good quality work and satisfied clients. On other hand, he feels that it is perfectly acceptable to say ‘I don’t know’ and have a willingness to learn rather than trying to dance around a question/problem. “In my profession,” says Rashed, “credibility and first impression goes a long way. Being true to your work and maintaining a good ethical standard helps in building consensus and resolving issues rather than unethical practices that can always come back to haunt you.”
Outside of his career, Rashed’s work is equally impressive and fueled by his desire to give back to his home country. He has volunteered a lot of personal time to develop a transportation master plan for Bangladesh, even presenting his proposed solutions to the Minister of Communication of Bangladesh and the Mayor of Dhaka (capital of Bangladesh). Based on his education, knowledge and professional experience, he developed recommendations that could help better manage the transportation infrastructure. He also identified ways and means to attract investment in that industry to meet the traffic demands of the future.
Rashed has also worked in identifying solutions for the traffic concerns that impacts central Texas. Rashed led a study as part of the Austin Chamber Commerce’s Take on Traffic initiative that analyzed the primary traffic congestions choke points in the region in order to identify solutions to improve traffic flow. The study now serves as the basis for work at the City of Austin going on right now in their Transportation Department. He was awarded 2008 Volunteer of the Year by the Chamber for his work.
He also currently serves as the Chair of Bangladesh Association of Greater Austin (BAGA) and has been involved with this community organization since its inception. BAGA has been representing the Bangladesh community in the Greater Austin area and promotes Bangladeshi heritage and traditions to future generations and the citizens of Austin. The association has organized various social, cultural and recreational activities which have been attended by the local elected officials and the greater Austin community. Additionally, Rashed serves on the Board of Austin Asian America Chamber of Commerce (AAACC), whose aim is to integrate the Asian-American business community with the Austin community at-large.
“It gives me great pleasure and satisfaction to volunteer my time and give back to my community”, says Rashed. “Our collective volunteer efforts can make all our lives a little better, richer and happier.”
Rashed Islam is married to Laboni and is the father of Rusama and Rahil (future Longhorns). He also is a “big time Longhorn fan” and follows them on all sports.