Zayne Shalabi

2025 Udall Scholar Honorable Mention

Hometown

West Lafayette, Indiana

Major

Environmental and Ecological Engineering; Film and Video Production

College

College of Engineering; John Martinson Honors College

 

The Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, established in 1992, recognizes college sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service and commitment to issues related to the environment or American Indian nations.

 

Named a 2025 Udall Scholarship Honorable Mention, Zayne Shalabi aspires to be a good steward not only of the land, but also for the communities who live there. While building a strong technical foundation as an Environmental and Ecological Engineering major, Zayne persistently pursued the social aspects of environmentalism both inside and outside the classroom, including through her involvement in Engineers Without Borders Purdue University Chapter.

 

From her engagement in a project to develop a sustainably designed and hurricane resilient cultural center for a tribal community in Louisiana to her summer internship at a hazardous waste management company in Indianapolis, Zayne discovered her motivation to pursue community-based environmental design as she increasingly saw the impact of engineering to create social change. Repeatedly, Zayne showed leadership among her peers and poise in communicating ideas to various stakeholders.

 

A talented videographer with a second major in Film and Video Production, Zayne embodies the creative potential unlocked with an interdisciplinary mindset, which she has cultivated as a student at the John Martinson Honors College.