Fadi Al Banna is honored as District 10’s Maintenance Engineering Employee of the Year as Jose Alicea, District 10 office chief, Maintenance Engineering, Tanya Sanguinetti, the district’s deputy district director of Maintenance, look on.
By Bob Highfill
District 10 public information officer
Fadi Al Banna was recently named District 10’s Maintenance Engineering Employee of the Year.
The recognition came just weeks after Fadi left District 10 for a position at Caltrans Headquarters in Sacramento, another rung up the ladder for an amazing person who has served as a gleaming example of employee excellence.
Fadi’s path to success has been anything but ordinary. He overcame extraordinary adversity, including escaping the grip of the terrorist organization ISIS, and courageously rebuilt his life in the United States.
Fadi said he was overwhelmed and deeply gratified when he received the recognition from his District 10 Maintenance “family.”
“Being nominated for this award by my District 10 Maintenance family is definitely the highest honor and greatest achievement in my professional journey so far,” Fadi said. “It’s a very special trophy that I will hold dear to my heart forever.”
To Fadi, “family” is a word not to be taken lightly. Fadi has been separated from his parents and siblings for many years due to unfortunate circumstances in his native country, Iraq. In 2004, Fadi graduated from civil engineering school and had started his career when terrorist groups forced him to quit his job and leave the country because his work involved projects funded by the U.S. Army. He left Iraq, moved to Syria, and started over.
“I received a very serious life-threatening message,” Fadi said. “I was called a traitor, and I was asked to leave the country, or else. So, I resigned from my job, left my family and friends behind, and moved to Syria.”
Fadi said he was lucky to receive a message. He knew many who were executed without warning.
Fadi’s family also fled the country after ISIS took over the city where they lived, seized their house, and destroyed everything they owned. Most of his family settled in Europe. Fadi wanted to live and work in the United States. In 2009, while living in Syria, he received refugee status from the United Nations and was informed that he would be moved to Florida.
“I, once again, had to start over,” Fadi said. “I didn’t have anybody, no family, nothing.”
Fadi worked in Florida while he waited for his green card. His goal was to work in civil engineering, his passion, but at the time, the economy was in a recession, so a civil engineering job was next to impossible, especially for a refugee from Iraq with limited proficiency in English.
Undeterred, Fadi worked his way up from the bottom. He took odd jobs he never thought he would have to take. His first job in the United States was at a fast-food restaurant, then he switched over to a graveyard shift at a gas station, hoping to go to school during the daytime. However, due to a lack of guidance and resources, things did not go as planned.
“But I was happy,” Fadi said. “There was always a calming voice inside me that kept whispering, ‘It seems like an uphill battle with no end in sight, but have faith, be patient, and never lose hope — things will work out in the end.’”
Two years later, and after receiving his green card, Fadi decided to move to California. He packed his belongings and drove his old car across the country. He was awestruck by what he saw on his two-week journey: the Mississippi River, the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam, and Las Vegas, for example. Again, Fadi had to start over in California, where he became a U.S. citizen.
He signed up for classes at American River College (ARC) in Sacramento to improve his English and sharpen his skills after being away from school for years. He passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) exam and earned his EIT Certificate in 2013, holding onto the goal of someday working as a civil engineer. He worked odd jobs while studying at ARC. Eventually, he accepted a part-time position in early childhood education with the San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento as a bilingual child development assistant, where he helped refugee families enroll their children in schools, assisted them in the classrooms, and shared available resources with them.
Fadi attended California State University, Sacramento, to work on his master’s degree in structural engineering. He also took some MBA and project management classes to get a broader understanding of civil engineering and how to manage projects and resources.
Fadi worked part-time for one of his Sacramento State professors, a senior bridge engineer who worked for Caltrans. At the time, Fadi had earned an Engineer-in-Training (EIT) certificate and had civil engineering experience in Iraq. But it wasn’t enough in the eyes of employers. Fadi received hundreds of job rejection letters and was told that he did not have hands-on experience in the U.S as a civil engineer.
But the part-time job with his professor helped fill the gap in Fadi’s resume, and he landed a full-time job with Clark Pacific, a U.S.-based leader in prefabricated building systems. In 2018, Fadi accepted a full-time job with Caltrans after attending a mass hiring event in Sacramento.
Fadi was hired by Central Region Construction as the District 10 construction safety coordinator. He performed the same role in District 6 as needed. Two years later, Fadi joined District 10’s Maintenance Design team. He also worked a rotational assignment in District 10’s Division of Project Development that included a stint with the Utility Engineer Workgroup before he returned to Maintenance Design.
He became a licensed civil engineer in California in September 2024, and in November 2024, Fadi left Maintenance Design to work for Maintenance Engineering as the HM5/Facilities program coordinator.
Fadi consistently has achieved greatness, fulfilling several key roles with Caltrans, primarily in Maintenance Design and Maintenance Engineering. He has earned the respect and admiration of his supervisors and co-workers.
“I am not really surprised that he was nominated and presented the award,” said Edujie Imoisili, District 10 branch chief, Maintenance Design. “He deserves it. It is also great that he is being acknowledged and put up as a standard for what an exemplary employee should be.”
Fadi’s District 10 colleagues described him in glowing terms on his employee of the year nomination form.
“I, too, can attest that (Fadi) has always gone above and beyond,” said Jose Alicea, District 10 office chief, Maintenance Engineering. “Amongst all, (Fadi) has always been respectful and has continued to accept mentorship that has allowed (him) to progress in (his) career.”
This past June, Fadi left District 10 to work for the Division of Engineering Services in Headquarters. Now, he supports users of the AASHTOWare Project Preconstruction Software. Fadi was on the users’ side when he worked in District 10. Now, he provides support for some 2,700 users and 450 contractors who work with the software.
Fadi said he likes helping people achieve their goals, just as many people helped him along his journey from Iraq to the United States to Caltrans.
“Before moving to the United States, I was at the lowest point in my life. The atrocities I witnessed after the 2003 war had shattered my faith in humanity. But as I began to meet more Americans and share my story, I was deeply moved by their empathy, genuine kindness, and sincere desire to help me heal, succeed, and return to my career in civil engineering,” Fadi said.
“This country — my country — not only gave me the opportunity to rebuild a life bigger than the life I ever dreamed of, but also revived my hope in human goodness and restored my faith in humanity through the American people. For that, I will forever be grateful.”
Fadi Al Banna embodies Caltrans’ vision, goals, and core values. He has conquered unimaginable challenges to achieve his goals while helping those around him achieve theirs.
“I strive each day to give back to the country and people who gave me a second chance at life,” Fadi said. “They lit a path through my darkest days, and I will spend the rest of my life honoring that light.”