Zena initially started her journey in healthcare studying a Bachelor of Biomedical Science majoring in Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of Western Australia. She went on to tackle medical research as part of her honours project at the Harry Perkins Institute of Western Australia focusing on neural disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. After this Zena decided to follow her grandfather’s footsteps and pursue dentistry embracing his lifetime philosophy of philanthropy.
During this time, Zena became involved with advocacy at the University becoming elected as Ordinary Guild Councillor for the UWA Guild Council in 2017. In this role she worked with the women’s department, welfare and advocacy committees and corporate services to ensure students’ needs were met on campus.