Mohamed “Moe” Abbas personifies the Volunteer Spirit. Having moved to Knoxville from New York two years ago, he already serves as a volunteer battalion chief with Knox County Rescue. In this capacity, he performs lifesaving work, having certifications in hazardous materials, confined space rescue, structural collapse rescue, swift water rescue, trench rescue and vehicle heavy rescue. In January, he was involved in freeing two workers from a trench collapse in Powell. During his years with New York’s Deer Park Volunteer Fire Department, he received more than 30 Life-Saving Awards of Merit.
When he is not saving people, Abbas is a senior project manager with Denark Construction, Inc., where he is currently overseeing construction of the new Tennessee Smokies Stadium in Knoxville’s Old City. Married with two young daughters, he also works as a reserve firefighter and EMT for Rural Metro and is a student in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business Professional MBA (ProMBA) program.
To explain his relentless work pace and constant drive to help others, the 30-year-old Abbas, who will graduate in December 2022, lists several factors. One is that his Muslim faith calls on him to help others. Another is a memory from when he was eight or nine. His younger brother accidentally collided with a mantel, cutting a large gash in his head.
“I had no idea what to do – I didn’t even know how to apply direct pressure to stop bleeding,” Abbas recalls. “The EMTs got there, and they were helping him, and I felt like I should have been the one to help him. So, I took that on as a responsibility, learning how to do that.”
His resolve to master so many different lifesaving certifications reveals another trait that drives Abbas: His love of problem-solving.
“Solving problems in construction, solving problems in all the different things we do, I get a lot of satisfaction from that,” Abbas says. “But when you are solving a problem where it’s an emergency or where somebody needs you, and you’re helping them? It’s a totally different kind of satisfaction.”
He also likes to take on new interests and challenges. Sleeping just four hours each night, Abbas can take on more than most people can. Still, he knows his limits.
“I am careful to make sure that I don’t overload myself,” he says. “I am a very committed person. If I do something, I want to make sure that I can do it 100 percent.”
One challenge he decided to commit to was getting an MBA. He had been accepted into New York University’s MBA program before he decided to move to Tennessee for the job with Denark. Resettled in Knoxville, he checked out Haslam’s ProMBA. After visiting a class, he knew he wanted to do it – 100 percent.
Molly Kinard, ProMBA’s program director, says, “Moe is dedicated to earning his MBA. His ability to juggle his program work, his career and all his other commitments is nothing short of amazing.”
At his job and in his volunteer work, Abbas is already applying what he learns in the classroom, particularly because he is being exposed to problem solving approaches from widely varying fields.
“When you’re at work, you’re in your own industry bubble, and you’re working with people who have the same thought processes,” he says. “There’s a huge diversity of thought in the program. When you get in a room with somebody that manages a supply chain or works on all the different types of plastics that are made from petroleum, you get completely different thoughts. Tapping into those connections to help come up with different outlooks and solutions has been a great experience.”
That diversity of thought is a benefit of the program Abbas expects to tap for years to come.
“They do a good job of making sure that you are well connected with everybody else in your class and with other classes,” Abbas says. “There are so many connections, relationships and, ultimately, friendships that I plan on keeping for a long time.”
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CONTACT:
Scott McNutt, business writer/publicist, rmcnutt4@utk.edu
