Alumni Spotlight - Hani Shafai (CE 87)

Hani Shafai isn't afraid to dream big

Even when all of the cards were stacked against him – when most people probably would have thrown in the towel – Hani Shafai (CE 87) never gave up on his dream to become an engineer. Never. 

And it wasn’t just the degree that he wanted; he wanted to improve communities and improve peoples’ lives, and he knew he could do that as an engineer. Hani had experienced enough during his childhood to understand that he wanted to be a builder, and to him, building cross-community relationships and apartment complexes went hand in hand. 

It only takes one conversation with Hani about his background to understand just how much determination he must have had to make his goal a reality. Hani grew up in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian exclave that has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967.

“The environment I grew up in was a war zone” he said. “There was always destruction. So that gets you thinking, ‘how do I make things that can protect people and help people?’ 

His journey to South Dakota Mines started at a university in West Bank, Palestine where he met Jack Anderson, visiting math professor from Hill City, SD. When that university shut down a year later due to political conflicts, Jack encouraged Hani to transfer to Mines and continue his education there. 

“I didn’t tell anyone that I was leaving, not even my parents. I knew that it would be difficult, and I also didn’t know when I would be able to go back.” 

But he knew it was something he had to do, so he boarded a plane to the United States. He still remembers his flight number from that day. 

He arrived at Mines in 1981 and describes the first couple of months as a challenge due to his lack of financial resources and the change of culture. He came from a poor family, and foreign students didn’t qualify for loans from the government. With some help from Dr. Anderson and a scholarship from the foundation, he was able to make ends meet. Hani describes Jack as a true father figure whose family took him in as one of their own. 

“The beginning was tough, but after a couple of months, the school felt like a family atmosphere. The professors were all really helpful.” 

But only months after Hani started school, he began encountering immigration status issues due to the type of Visa he had acquired. He could no longer attend Mines, and he also couldn’t return to his home country. So, for two years, Hani was in limbo working odd jobs such as driving cabs in Chicago. But even then, his mind didn’t sway from his education. 

“Whenever I was in my cab waiting, I would be reading engineering books. I would be studying like I was going to school. I read two electrical engineering books cover to cover even though I was in civil engineering. I never gave up.” 

When he finally returned to Mines, he remembers Civil Engineering Professor Thomas Propson hugging him and saying, “It’s about time you came back.” 

It was the warm welcome from the professors that assured Hani he was in the right place. He also realized that he could relate to some of the students due to their shared background growing up in farming families. And all that extra studying came in handy, especially when he had to take that required electrical engineering class.  

In his senior year while doing research for Shell Oil and 3M, Dr. Venkataswamy Ramakrishnan (now Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering) encouraged him to get his master’s degree. It was during his master’s education that Hani gained a lot of confidence. 

“They started to present at national and international conferences, including American Concrete Institute and National Transportation Research Board. Northwestern University called and asked me to come work there just from seeing me present at a conference. Dr. Ramakrishnan really instilled confidence in me. It was because of the opportunities those folks gave me.”

Hani at his master's graduation in 1989.

After a brief stint in California after graduate school, Hani returned to Mines to teach. Eventually, he opened his own business, Dream Design International, which focuses on building sustainable communities through land planning, engineering, and real estate development. The firm’s website says its “number one priority is to foundationally grow our cities so that our children and future generations have promising futures.”

In each of their projects, you can see the connection to community, building bridges, and bringing people together. They are currently building affordable housing in the new Sky Ridge development in Spearfish. This past spring, Dream Design announced they will be part of the Sioux Falls One Stop project, a building that will combine 13 state agencies into one location. A facility for Rural America Initiative’s Head Start program was built on land donated by Hani.

Hani’s commitment to the people of South Dakota has landed him in the South Dakota Hall of Fame. He will be inducted with the Class of 2023 this September.  

“We have a really great team and a great philosophy in our office. That’s why we have been successful. What we do is a public service. It’s about improving the quality of life and realizing what we are capable of.”

That last point – realizing what we’re capable of – is something Hani hopes students at Mines will consider. 

“The opportunities that exist in the U.S. don’t exist anywhere else in the world. Many people put limitations on themselves, but usually those are just perceived limitations. The opportunities are limitless. The impact we could have in our communities is also limitless.”

While Mines provides students with the foundation for success, he thinks it’s important for young engineers to realize that only we have the ability to realize our goals. 

“Our fortunes are not created by others; our fortunes are created by our own actions. It starts with our mindset.”

When considering the impact that South Dakota Mines has on its community, Hani believes that aside from Monument Health, it’s the largest economic engine in Rapid City.  

“The number of people who have been impacted by Mines and who then go on to impact our region and our nation is huge. The people who go there and then decide to stay and open businesses and work here are contributing greatly to the economy of this area.” 

Hani himself is one of those people. And it’s a responsibility he is happy to carry. 

“I knew I would never give up on my dream to be an engineer. And there was nothing better for me than the School of Mines. I owe a lot to the school for everything it’s given me.” 

Hani in front of Rocker Square on the Mines campus, a development he helped make possible.