Marwa Abdullah Awarded St. Catherine Medal for Academics and Service

Marwa Abdullah, a junior majoring in psychology and history, is the recipient of the 2024-25 St. Catherine Medal Award from Dominican University.

Each year, this award recognizes a sophomore or junior for their strong academic achievement and outstanding service.

While achieving a GPA of 3.5 and holding memberships in national honor societies for psychology and history, Abdullah’s service to Dominican and the greater community is significant. She has held numerous student leadership positions, including Peer Leader, Torch Leader, and membership on the executive boards for the Black Student Union, Community Actions Board, and Organization for Latin American Students. She has been an advocate for various causes and student needs, including improving religious literacy on campus, amplifying Palestinian voices, and addressing food waste.

Abdullah is the co-founder and organizer of The Cry of the Diaspora: Decolonizing Narratives of Exploitation, a month-long series of events hosted by several student organizations to shine a light on often overlooked humanitarian crises in Black countries. For her Schmitt Scholars project last year, she developed a website outlining the history of Black Islamic scholarship in the United States.

As an undergraduate research assistant, Abdullah has contributed to the McGreal Center’s Sacred Spaces project, which involves the digital preservation of buildings that are important to the Dominican family, as well as other religious sites. Abdullah collaborated with a Black Muslim community to develop 3D digital tours of a historically landmarked church that is being transitioned into a mosque. 

She has also worked in DU’s Complex Trauma Research Lab under Dr. Sophia Hamilton Duffy to develop staff training modules.

“Marwa Abdullah is known all throughout campus because of her campus activism and advocacy,” wrote Interfaith Chaplain Nora Zaki Mantas in her St. Catherine Medal nomination. “Marwa’s groundedness in her faith as a Muslim and the ability to welcome others of various faith traditions as her friends, colleagues and work partners is also something not to ignore.”

“I am consistently impressed by Marwa and her passion for both education and fighting social justice,” noted Dr. Mark Carbonara, assistant vice president of advancement, in his nomination letter.

Abdullah will receive the St. Catherine Medal during a ceremony this spring.

Other student nominees for the award were Nafia Khan, Leah Knobbe, Paula Otu and Kayla Perkins.