Zeinab is already a published writer, and the recipient of the UCSD Saier Award in Fiction. She has completed a research project on issues of representation in contemporary novels, and soon will have a short story and two poems published in a UCSD literary journal. Her writing centers on issues affecting her community, and explores “themes such as war, imperialism, and immigration.” She hopes to ultimately earn a PhD.

She has always loved reading, and literature was her favorite class in high school, but she readily admits that “maybe calculus was so terrible that anything seemed better in comparison.” As much as she enjoyed her high school literature classes, she recognizes that back then she wouldn’t have been able to imagine “being a university student being recognized for her written work… and taking courses on theory and German Romanticism and science fiction writing.” She is “so grateful to be here.”

Having held several leadership roles in high school, it’s not surprising that she is now very active on campus. She is a board member for a cultural club that “provides a safe haven” for her peers. She is also an intern at CAIR, where she “assists in projects that promote civic engagement and empower communities underrepresented in politics.” Zeinab is enrolled in Eleanor Roosevelt College.