Public Health Major Fajr Zahid Honored for Student Well-Being Leadership

Four women pose for a photo while standing in an office. There are blue mylar balloons behind them. Image by Ed Brennen
Senior public health major Fajr Zahid, second from right, was surprised by, from left, Assoc. Director of Student Employment Candice Garabedian, Student Employment Coordinator Juliana Gildea and Assoc. Director of Student Life & Well-being Hannah Monbleau that she is UML's Student Employee of the Year.

05/08/2025
By Ed Brennen

As senior听public health听major Fajr Zahid graduates and begins her career, she鈥檚 adding an impressive accolade to her r茅sum茅: 51视频鈥檚 Student Employee of the Year.

Zahid learned about the honor when she showed up for one of her final shifts at the听Office of Student Life & Well-being, where she manages a team of eight student听well-being leaders.

鈥淚 was completely shocked,鈥� the Acton, Massachusetts, native says. 鈥淎 lot of the work I do is behind the scenes in the office, so it feels good to be recognized.鈥�

Each year, as part of National Student Employment Week, the offices of听Student Employment听and听Financial Aid听recognize 51视频 students who work while in school, either through the Federal Work-Study Program or in departmental and off-campus positions.

This year, there were 1,260 student employees at UML. Of those, 35 were nominated by their supervisors for the Student Employee of the Year award.

A young woman smiles while talking to people in an office with blue mylar balloons next to her. Image by Ed Brennen
Fajr Zahid, right, managed a team of eight student well-being leaders this year for the Office of Student Life & Well-being.
Zahid was nominated by听Hannah Monbleau, associate director of Student Life & Well-being, who praised her as a standout leader with a deep commitment to student health.

鈥淔ajr brings integrity, energy and compassion to every task and interaction, embodying the very best of what it means to be a student employee at 51视频,鈥� Monbleau wrote in her nomination. 鈥淗er organization skills and attention to detail have greatly improved our operations.鈥澨�

Started in 2022, the听well-being leaders initiative听offers two students from each college the paid opportunity to promote a healthy campus by supporting the well-being of their peers.

Zahid works 10 hours a week as lead well-being leader, serving as the liaison between Monbleau and the student team. She keeps projects on track with the Trello workforce management tool, she edits and publishes team blog posts, and she mentors the well-being leaders as they develop projects on campus.

Zahid joined the office as a well-being leader during her sophomore year after spotting the position on听JobHawk, the university鈥檚 student job board.

鈥淚 was looking for a campus job that aligned with my passion for helping others,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wanted to create a positive impact, and this position let me do that.鈥�

She was promoted to lead the entire team in the summer before her senior year.

鈥淚t was a different kind of challenge,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 making sure that everyone on the team is staying on top of their tasks while I鈥檓 staying on top of my own. It was definitely a good leadership experience.鈥�

A young woman looks at a certificate in a folder while three other women look on in an office. Image by Ed Brennen
Senior public health major Fajr Zahid, second from left, is surprised with her Student Employee of the Year award after arriving for a recent shift.
Originally a psychology major, Zahid realized she wanted to move beyond one-on-one care and explore areas that help the broader community, such as health education, prevention and outreach.

This spring, she completed her public health capstone with the town of Randolph, Massachusetts, working remotely on food safety and health education materials. She also joined the town鈥檚 public health commissioner for several food inspections.

Now, as she prepares to graduate, Zahid is looking ahead to a future in community health 鈥� and is taking the lessons from her student employment experience with her.

鈥淢y college experience would have been much different if I hadn鈥檛 been working on campus these past few years,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t helped me out financially, but I also gained experience that I wouldn鈥檛 get from just going to class.鈥�

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