UMass Boston Student Engy Mui Among “29 Who Shine” in 2011

Twenty-nine outstanding 2011 graduates of community colleges, state universities, and the University of Massachusetts were honored for both academic achievement and their contributions to the Commonwealth in a State House ceremony on May 12.

Engy Mui, a decorated U.S. Navy veteran and biology major in the Honors Program, is the “29 Who Shine” award winner from the University of Massachusetts Boston. After receiving two Special Action Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals for superior performance as a Navy medic, Mui decided to leave active duty and attend UMass Boston to become a doctor.

“Ms. Mui is an exceptional student in biology who has accomplished much at a very young age,” said Andrew Grosovsky, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. “Since starting her biology major requirements, she has been a truly outstanding student, among the very best in her classes.”

Grosovsky said Mui, a Wellesley resident, carries a 3.91 grade point average in very difficult courses. She has shadowed surgeons in the Children’s Hospital Neurosurgery operating room, performed research in the Labs of Cognitive Neuroscience at Children's Hospital Boston, and still had time to volunteer at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Outside the hospital halls, Mui is a community leader – she is active in the Students Arts and Events Council and Veterans Student Center at UMass Boston and is one of the lead organizers for the Egyptians in Boston network.

“Each one of these students is a success story in her or his own right, and as a group they remind us of the power of public higher education to change lives,” Massachusetts Education Secretary Paul Reville said.

Mui credits much of her success to the campus community.

“Being selected as one of the ‘29 Who Shine’ reflects the great academic and personal support that I have received from the faculty and staff at UMass Boston,” Mui said. “Receiving this award raises my standards of giving back to the community. The honor of the award truly puts my mission into perspective of what the state expects of its graduates as they embark on various journeys of life. These journeys are to have a common goal -- advancing Massachusetts to the top of the list of places to live and learn.”

In addition to the awards received at the May 12 ceremony, the students were recognized in full-page and half-page advertisements appearing in daily newspapers across the state.

About the University of Massachusetts Boston
With a growing reputation for innovative research addressing complex issues, the University of Massachusetts Boston, metropolitan Boston’s only public university, offers its diverse student population both an intimate learning environment and the rich experience of a great American city. UMass Boston’s eight colleges and graduate schools serve more than 15,000 students while engaging local, national, and international constituents through academic programs, research centers, and public service activities.