Karim Abou Najm Memorial Change-Makers Prize

Karim was born to Majdi Abou Najm and Nadine Yehya in Lebanon. Before moving to the US in 2018, he attended International College in Beirut, Lebanon. He joined Davis Senior High School and graduated with high honors, before getting accepted to UC Davis. Karim was six weeks away from graduating with a bachelor’s in computer science with honors. While in college, he was also a full-time software engineer and interned at multiple companies.

Karim was a compassionate, smart, and caring young man who left us too soon. He’s a loving son, brother and grandson. He meant the world for his family.

For his short journey with us, he accomplished a lot. He took pride in helping others from lessons he learned through his studies and work. He mentored undergraduate computer science students and on-boarded student researchers to Miller Lab at UC Davis. He always gave a shoutout to his colleagues and supported them in finding opportunities on-campus and beyond.

In honor of the legacy Karim has left behind, the Karim Abou Najm Memorial Change-Makers Prize will provide an annual prize to be allocated by the Internship and Career Center, in recognition of high achieving students who wish to gain additional technical skills and training.