UCI celebrates the first prestigious scholarship recipient of the New Year
The Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and the Division of Undergraduate Education are pleased to announce the first prestigious scholarship recipient for 2021. Malak Kudaimi, UCI alumna and staff member, has been named a Marshall Scholar for 2021-22.
Kudaimi is the third UCI student to receive the award, following Kelly Maglia in 1996 and Felipe Hernandez in 2015. Additionally, as a full-time staff member at the Fresh Basic Needs Hub, she is the first UCI staff member to receive the Marshall Scholarship. As a student, Kudaimi achieved summa cum laude honors in international studies and public health policy, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society as a junior (top 1%), and was among only nine students to complete the highly-selective Public Health Honors Program in 2017-18.
“Growing up, my parents often challenged me to embody servant leadership and to remember the principle of accountability in our faith,” says Kudaimi, who identifies as Muslim. She adds that her journey as a Syrian immigrant led to “a deep sense of responsibility to contribute to and advocate for those in the lands I come from. As an undergraduate, I stumbled upon the field of public health, finding fulfillment in a career that married my love of health and public service.”
As a recipient of the Marshall Scholarship, Kudaimi will continue to pursue her passion for global health, nutrition policy, and chronic disease prevention through the Master of Science in Health and International Development program at the London School of Economics. With a focus on international policy and humanitarian concerns, Kudaimi’s research will inform her advocacy for evidence-based policy in the Middle East region as a future public health professional.
The Marshall Scholarship is one of the most prestigious and competitive scholarships in the world. While students all over the country apply annually, only 50 outstanding students are selected to study at the graduate level at an institution in the United Kingdom. Marshall Scholars are chosen based on their academic merit, leadership potential, and ambassadorial potential.
