By: Erik Pedersen, Senior Communications Manager
BALTIMORE – A Notre Dame of Maryland University graduate assistant and PhD student was one of nine women from an international pool of candidates selected to the Institute for Global Engagement’s Center for Women, Faith & Leadership (CWFL) hybrid fellowship cohort.
Zeina Al-Zaiim D’23 was the lone United States representative chosen to participate in the one-year fellowship, which begins on March 18. Al-Zaiim is a graduate assistant for the Mission & Ministry and Service & Community Engagement offices at NDMU, and she is working towards her PhD in Higher Education Leadership for Changing Populations.
“It’s such an honor for me to be a part of this program and to get to work with these incredibly talented women,” Al-Zaiim said. “This fellowship will give me a great opportunity to put into practice what I am learning in my leadership courses at Notre Dame.”
The CWFL’s fellowship program gathers outstanding women of faith leaders from around the world to build their capacity and leadership skills as they engage religious freedom, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding issues in their own contexts. Fellows learn from one another and a network of experts in order to enhance their leadership, cross-cultural communication, and negotiation skills, while leveraging their expertise and networks to more effectively influence and educate multiple audiences and stakeholders.
The cohort will meet virtually every three weeks throughout the year. There will also be multiple in-person workshops, including trips to Norway in June for a global conference and Nigeria in November to discuss a variety of policy ideas with government officials.
Al-Zaiim supports students in NDMU’s Bonner Leaders Program, teaching a course on professional development this semester to students who dedicate 300 hours a year to community service. She hopes that the fellowship experience can serve as an example for her students as they apply for their own leadership initiatives.
“With how competitive the program is, I honestly didn’t think I would be accepted,” Al-Zaiim said. “But I’m glad I listened my heart and applied anyway. I will definitely encourage my students to apply for these kinds of opportunities and to have confidence in themselves, because you never know what might happen.”
Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.
