Zoya Shams, a senior in the College of Health Sciences, is a 2019 Forbes 30 under 30 Scholar.
Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit, which is Oct. 27-30 in Detroit, is described as the world’s greatest summit for young leaders by the Forbes’ website.
The summit is where leaders, creators and founders spend four days learning, building, teaching and connecting. There will be panels and demos from A-list leaders in tech, business and entertainment.
Shams is being acknowledged for her mentorship in a leadership program she was involved with at University of California-Los Angeles, Cullinan said.
Shams found out about the summit through a yearly summer camp she attends. One of her mentor’s companies is also on the 30 under 30 list.
Shams said one of her mentors is Bill Dorfman, who is the director and founder of the leadership camp at UCLA. One of her mentor’s companies is also on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.
“I think Shams’ engaging nature as a student as well as her level of service nationally and internationally contributed to her selection for this prestigious honor,” William Cullinan, professor and dean of the College of Health Sciences, said.
Shams coaches a leadership camp every summer held at UCLA.
“It’s where we develop and motivate individuals aged 15-25,” Shams said. “A big part of that is speaking, so I’ll speak to like 400 students about time management, job interview skills and a lot of other things.”
Cullinan said he believes it is an honor for Shams to receive this award.
“I think it is a tremendous honor for Zoya, as well as a point of distinction for the entire university, that a Marquette student has received a Forbes 30 under 30 award,” Cullinan said.
Shams said there will be a lot of CEOs from different companies there.
“People like Richard Branson have come before, Ashton Kutcher has been there, cool people that are successful in their companies,” Shams said. “This year Kevin Durant, the tech lead of Google and the CEO of Target (will be in attendance), so this should be a great opportunity to network with people,” Shams said.
Shams was selected as one of approximately 700 students from all over the world to attend.
Shams clarified that she is not on the actual 30 Under 30 list. That list is composed of companies and people that are high achieving in their fields. She was simply selected to attend the summit to represent Marquette among the other students representing.
The actual Forbes 30 Under 30 list is composed of 30 honorees among 20 categories chosen to lead the event. Some of the highest achieving of these this year include Serena Williams and 21 Savage, according to the Forbes website.
Shams said she is most looking forward to investor pitching as she has an innovation she would like to pitch. She said she is not comfortable sharing the innovation yet because she has not made progress on it yet.
Shams said she also believes the summit will help her learn how to run a business.
“I am pre-dental and a big regret I have is not minoring in business administration. So I want to learn how to run my own business, and this summit should help me with that, too,” Shams said.
