Friends and family members of Zayan Shamayeen are raising $50,000 to fulfill the Zayan Shamayeen Memorial Award Endowment at Emory University. This will be a university-wide award administered by the Center for Civic and Community Engagement in Campus Life and set to launch in Spring 2022.

We would like to raise $10,000 to help Zayan’s family achieve their $50,000 goal. 

About the Award

The purpose of this award is to commemorate the exceptional qualities which Zayan either possessed or valued during his lifetime, and to recognize those who uplift the spirit of humanity in its many different facets. This award will provide a deserving undergraduate student who embodies these characteristics and values with an opportunity to serve their community and make a larger impact on the greater good.

To be eligible for the scholarship, the student must:

• Have a 3.0 GPA or higher
• Be studying or pursuing research in the natural, social, and/or public health sciences
• Demonstrate passion for social justice and community involvement
• Display consistent leadership and teamwork capabilities

To award the scholarship, the Center for Civic and Community Engagement will:

• Create an application process that allows students to share what they would use the award for
• Work closely with Zayan’s family to share the finalists and the progress of the application process
• The selected recipient will share their work and impact with Zayan’s family and how the award impacted them

About Zayan

From an early age, Zayan Shamayeen had a passion for learning and an astute sense of duty to the community, society, and the world he lived in. Observing economic and political disparities in his home country of Bangladesh, Zayan committed his life to learning and searched for opportunities to improve the world around him.

Despite struggling with the daily effects of epilepsy, he left his home and family to study at Emory University (Class of 2018), majoring in Biology and minoring in Economics. Zayan became an outstanding student with considerable compassion for the disadvantaged. Throughout his college career, Zayan conducted research, including a study that examined the impact of family income on health outcomes. In addition to building his knowledge of the life sciences and health care systems, he made numerous contributions to the Emory community. As a founding member and president of the Bengali Association for Students at Emory, he created a community of comfort and acceptance for all, regardless of their affiliation to Bengali culture.