By Rakan Zainal
ABU DHABI — Zayed University recently celebrated 20 outstanding students for their achievements and contributions to Zayed University. Being a ZU student comes with a load of responsibilities that include: maintaining a high grade-point average, contributing to the ZU, as well as the Emirati, community, and being a leader inside and outside the university.
Razan Elzubair
Although there were a number of exceptional candidates, professors of both the Abu Dhabi and Dubai campuses had to make difficult decisions on lowering it down to 20. The Zayed University Exemplary Student Award, sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, awarded these dedicated students Dh5,000 each and will be honored in a ceremony on 16 February 2014 in the university’s convention center.
Among the recipients of this award were Razan El Zubair and Jaffar Mahmoud from the Abu Dhabi campus. According to Ms. Allison Fox, Senior Student Leadership and Development Coordinator in Student Affairs at ZU-AD, Miss Elzubair was nominated by Dr. David Bulla, an associate professor in the College of Communication and Media Sciences. Mr. Mahmoud, on the other hand, was nominated by Joy Saneo, an administrator in the university.
“Winning the award means more than I can express. It doesn’t represent only the work that I have done, but also the things that I had to go through to get to where I am,” Miss Elzubair said.
Furthermore, when asked about what drives her as a student, she claimed: “Students are driven by different things, some by passion and determination and others by encouragement. I like to think of my self to be driven by all three.”
Miss Elzubair, who is also taking classes at NYU this semester, was president of the ZU Student Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for two years. She did an internship at CNN last summer.
For Mr. Mahmoud, this was not an easy road to cross as he dedicated his time and efforts into achieving academic excellence. Fortunately, the fruits of his labor were shown through his winning of an award many worthy others could have possibly won.
Jaffar Mahmoud
“This award is unique in that it requires that a faculty or staff member nominate you, meaning that someone went out of their way to ensure that I was recognized for my actions and efforts,” he said. “For this I’m truly honored. Having grown familiar with failure, I’m increasingly edging towards finding my formula for success.”
Jaffar also plays on the ZU-AD men’s basketball team, and he was an outstanding distance runner during his high school days in the United States.
Here is a complete list of the winners of the exemplary students’ award: Ahmed Yaqoub Almaazmi, Ahlam Mohamed Al Ali, Alia Ahmad Ibrahim, Athari Hesham Al Hammadi, Deena Abdulla Al Menhali, Deena Rashid, Ebrahim Ali AlNaqbi, Fatme’ Rachid Rachid, Habiba Hassan, Hana Saeed Abdo, Hussa Khamis Al Mazrouei, Jaffar Mahmoud, Maha Khaled Al Murri, Mariam Abdulla Al Haddad, Maryam Hussain Kathem, Nusaibah Salem Al Ameri, Razan Elzubair, Saeed Jumaa Al Romaithi, Saeeda Husain Husain and Shaikha Ahmad Al Shamsi.
This story was originally published on Jan. 16, 2014. It was re-uploaded on Dec. 23, 2020. The photo that accompanied this story was lost due to the loss of the domain name.
