Touline (Lulu) and Ramsey Elshafei with their son, Taner.
CHICAGO—The adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” radiates from the smiles of Touline (Lulu), BA ’14, and Ramsey Elshafei, BS ’15. Yet their Bronco pride isn’t just written on their faces; it’s also reflected in their sentiments.
"WMU is a huge reason why I feel I’ve succeeded, and I want to see future generations have the same opportunity,” Ramsey, an industrial and entrepreneurial engineering graduate, says. “The hands-on learning and the engineering professors made it special for me. They brought a level of real-world applications that opened my eyes when considering career options.”
“I attended over 10 different schools as a kid and was just wanting to find a place to call ‘home’ for the coming four years,” Lulu adds. “We visited campus a few times, and I fell in love with its feel, the perfect Goldilocks size and the Bronco fever.”
Born in Syria, Lulu grew up the youngest of four in a single-mother household on the east side of Michigan. A first-generation college graduate, she earned her bachelor’s in political science from Western, followed by a Doctor of Law from Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Institute of Technology.
She relied on part-time jobs and scholarships to cover the cost of her education at Western. “If alums remember that first moment—the ‘butterflies,’ if you will—when they received any help, whether financial or otherwise, and they let that emotion grow, that’s where my decision to give back stemmed from,” she says.
Sowing the seeds of opportunity
Lulu and Ramsey had previously met, but they got to know one another through shared classes. Starting out pre-medicine, Lulu eventually switched her major to political science with a concentration in public law.
“I thought my focus would be policy bound, whether in politics or something similar, but that world wasn’t for me,” she says. “So, I decided anything with people at the center of it would be my niche.”
Ramsey and Lulu Elshafei celebrate his industrial and entrepreneurial engineering degree at the Miller Fountain following commencement in 2015.
Today, Lulu is cultivating her joy for helping others as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer for ALDI Inc. She and Ramsey married in 2015 and went on to grow their family.
“Having our first child while I was still in law school, landing a dream job at that time and graduating cum laude is a big personal milestone,” she says. “Young immigrant Lulu, who was born in a third-world country, took two years ESL and moved around more times than I care to count, would hopefully be so elated for this Lulu.”
Going into engineering was almost a forgone conclusion for Ramsey, but he desired something different from conventional degrees. “When I learned about the industrial and entrepreneurial engineering program at Western, it was an exciting and natural fit for me,” he says.
Like Lulu, he juggled the responsibilities of a job along with his studies. Although challenging, he says that experience helped shape his professional aspirations.
“During my fourth and fifth year, I worked 30 to 40 hours a week for a manufacturing company in Kalamazoo,” he says. “After graduation, I realized that manufacturing wasn’t what I wanted out of my career long term, so I decided to pivot and explore working in the commercial real estate industry.”
That decision led him to start his own business, RE Development Solutions Inc.
In a little over eight years, he’s helped grow the commercial real estate management company to 14 full-time staff members and more than 30 properties spanning $150 million.
In addition to laying the educational foundation for their careers, the couple credits WMU for providing valuable life lessons. “I learned how to balance work, school and social obligations; budget with very little income; and not let anxiety get the best of me,” Lulu says.
Inspired by the transformative experience they had at Western, she and Ramsey are now paying their gratitude forward through the establishment of scholarships supporting students in the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
“I just don’t want a student to think they have to work a little harder and lose their academic focus or go part-time because they can’t afford tuition,” Lulu says. “If the scholarship helps pay for even one class, that could mean less work shifts and less student-loan debt.
“I also want to continue to see the female workforce thrive and grow in the years to come,” she continues. “The pandemic, and even through now, has disproportionately affected female workers, and I would like to be a beacon of hope or reassurance for younger women.”
By offering scholarships, the Elshafeis aim to sow the seeds of opportunity, diligence and resilience for current and future Broncos.
“Hard work is the core to accomplishing your goals,” Ramsey says. “My parents were my inspiration to work hard early in life, but now my kids, Taner (4) and Evren (1), and my wife are what keep me going and push me to be a better person.” ■