November 5, 2004

Family Lessons Fuel Alumna’s Engineering Business

Sepi Asefnia has lived in Raleigh since she left Teheran. She enjoys reading, playing golf, listening to music, being outdoors and traveling. She and her husband, Farzin, have a daughter, Nakisa, 13, and a son, Bardia, 9. (Photo: Jon Pishney)

In business, Sepi Asefnia (BS Agricultural Engr ’85; BS Civil Engr ’93) relies on the lessons she has learned in life almost as much as those she has learned in the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University.

As a young girl growing up in Tehran, Iran, her family taught her not to fear challenges but to meet them head on. Her mother, Mahin, was a schoolteacher who told her that anything was possible — the sky’s the limit. “My upbringing was incredibly encouraging,” Asefnia noted.

As president and founder of Sepi Engineering Group of Raleigh — a transportation engineering and planning business she began out of her home in 2001 and which now gainfully employs 35 — Asefnia seems to have taken those lessons to heart.

But it’s not just attaining lofty goals that she strives for. Asefnia is determined to balance those goals with the importance of family, not only for her own benefit, but for her employees’ and clients’ benefit as well.

While businesses like to use the term “open-door policy” in reference to their attempts at keeping the workplace personable, Asefnia’s office doesn’t even have a door. She believes that the openness with which she runs her business breeds honesty and familiarity within the company — a sense of family — that ultimately translates into quality service to her clients.

“We don’t just talk about integrity, we really live it,” she said. “We work to improve our quality of work every day.”

As a mother of two children, she understands the need to temper such hard work with family needs.

“Family is very important to me — and really, that’s what we’re all working for.” That recognition helps her direct her business, as she remains keenly aware of the need to maintain the quality of life for area families as she meets the challenges of long-range transportation planning. “To be able to provide good schools and entertainment and parks — that balance is very important.”

Her prior experience studying agricultural engineering at NC State and working 11 years for the NC Department of Transportation also guides her.

“Both experiences helped broaden my perspective of the whole engineering community and the different disciplines we as engineers can get involved in,” she said. Sepi Engineering reflects this experience, adding the design of pedestrian and bicycle bridges for city greenways alongside grander projects, such as roadway planning for I-40 widening in the Triangle. In May 2004 Sepi Engineering went a step further, adding a stream restoration division.

Having lived in Raleigh for the past 25 years, Asefnia also has developed a strong commitment to the community and a genuine care for its future. And, as a graduate of NC State, she has discovered a huge network of existing alumni that have been invaluable to her success in the field. “I’ve met a lot of other professionals that I can quickly establish working relationships with. They’ve been a great resource for me.”

Asefnia also strives to be a good resource and role model for future engineers. “Role models are huge,” she said. She has helped organize National Engineers’ Week activities for Mecklenburg, Orange and Wake counties for four years. “Promoting engineering at an early age makes kids realize the opportunities that are out there.”

The opportunities for women are of special interest to Asefnia, who also serves as president of the North Carolina chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar, a non-profit organization that seeks to advance the role of women in transportation. “Women bring a new perspective to business,” she said. “They are very good communicators, very intuitive, and they care a lot about relationships. They make fabulous business leaders.”

In the near future, Asefnia said she would like to see her own company continue to grow. Farther down the road, she’d love to look back and see that she has contributed to creating leaders in the community.

“To know that they joined me and gained experience that helped them become leaders and give back to the community — that’s what I really want.”

— pishney —

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