Hibah Khan, who is graduating from Michigan State University this month with a B.A. in Humanities-Prelaw and two minors in South Asian Languages and Cultures and Peace and Justice Studies, was named the 2024 College of Arts & Letters Outstanding Senior Achievement Award recipient in recognition of her academic excellence, service and leadership, and commitment to personal and professional development, cross-cultural sensitivity, and diversity. She will be recognized as the recipient of this award during the College of Arts & Letters commencement ceremony on Sunday, April 28, at the Breslin Student Events Center.
“As a first-generation immigrant, I understand the struggles my parents had to go through to get me where I am,” Khan said. “I put in the hard work for them and for my future and my community. This award means a lot and makes me want to work harder and do more advocacy work. It’s just work I love to do, and I want to continue it.”
Khan initially was drawn to MSU for its expansive campus and the opportunities it offered. The Humanities-Prelaw major in the College of Arts & Letters allowed her to take classes in a wide range of subjects and explore her many interests, from Philosophy and Anthropology to Criminal Justice and Women and Gender Studies.
“As a first-generation immigrant, I understand the struggles my parents had to go through to get me where I am. I put in the hard work for them and for my future and my community. This award means a lot and makes me want to work harder.”
Hibah Khan
Her interest in the Humanities-Prelaw major stems from her experiences as a Pakistani-Canadian-American. Growing up, she attended a long chain of institutions with very little diversity and there was a lack of representation in textbooks and classrooms, which fueled her passion for exploring her identity and the desire to engage in advocacy work.
“Law is everything in the world. It connects everything,” Khan said. “That’s why I was interested in going into the prelaw track, so I can do civil rights work, or somehow help my Asian American community in the future.”
Khan was nominated for the Outstanding Senior Achievement Award by Ellen Moll, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies and former Director of the Humanities-Prelaw program, and Mary Beth Heeder, Instructor in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures, whom Khan worked for as a student wellness intern in the College of Arts & Letters.
“Ms. Khan is outstanding – truly exceptional – in academic achievements, personal qualities, and contributions to community,” Moll wrote in her nomination letter. “It is rare to find a student who takes so many opportunities to make her major, MSU, and the wider world a better place, and who does so with such intellectual curiosity, empathy, effectiveness, and brilliance. She absolutely embodies what the College of Arts & Letters proclaims about the value of the humanities – that being an outstanding scholar in the arts and humanities is one of the best ways to learn how to change the world.”
Khan has finished her undergraduate degree in three years, has been on the Dean’s List every semester, and is a part of the Honors College. During that time, she also has served in several leadership positions on campus. This past year, she was the Vice President of the Asian Pacific American Student Organization (APASO) and Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs for the Associated Students at Michigan State University (ASMSU).
“She absolutely embodies what the College of Arts & Letters proclaims about the value of the humanities – that being an outstanding scholar in the arts and humanities is one of the best ways to learn how to change the world.”
Ellen Moll, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies
As Vice President of APASO, Khan oversees all the organization’s affiliates – currently 19 registered student organizations. These include groups like the Korean Student Association, Hmong American Student Association, and Spartan Sur, a South Asian acapella group. APASO advocates for the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) student body community on Michigan State University’s campus in social, political, and academic contexts. With roots in activism, APASO strives to support an inclusive and intersectional community at MSU and beyond. APASO also works towards creating awareness about the APIDA community through programming, collaborations, and networking.
“I’m really interested in advocacy work and helping marginalized communities, that’s why I’m involved with APASO,” Khan said. “I really want to uplift and empower my Asian Pacific Islander Desi American community.”
In APASO, Khan played a pivotal role in coordinating events like APIDA/A Fall Welcome and APASO Banquet, including the highly successful Cultural Vogue. The annual event drew around 1,000 attendees and showcased performances by APASO affiliate organizations, featuring dance, music, skits, speeches, and more, offering a glimpse into Asian identities and cultural representations.
“It’s a lot of work, but I feel like we really outdid ourselves this year,” Khan said. “Cultural Vogue had such a great turnout, and I feel like our community has gotten closer.”
Khan’s responsibilities with ASMSU involved serving as a liaison between various higher administrative bodies and undergraduate students. If students had questions regarding academic policies, needed assistance with getting connected to university resources, or wanted to propose potential policy changes, they reached out to Khan, who brought their requests to the administration.
“I started at ASMSU because I’m also interested in education law,” Khan said. “This job is very helpful in that way and taught me a lot about higher ed administration. Maybe I’ll be using what I learned from ASMSU for future education policies.”
As part of ASMSU, Khan also spearheaded the First-Generation Student Appreciation Week last semester, which included a number of events to celebrate, provide resources, and generate advocacy for first-generation students.
In May 2023, Khan was selected to be a Humanities Prelaw Fellow, which provided professional development and asked students to shape the future of the program, both curriculum and co-curricular opportunities.
“In the Humanities Prelaw Fellows, Hibah showed strong leadership and empathy and was a good listener to others while also being true to herself and her values. She was passionate throughout in working to provide recommendations on future directions for the major, and collaborated well with others,” Moll said. “Some other students in the program even told me that they were inspired by all the work she was doing outside the classroom and that her community involvement made them want to do more. Her level of scholarly and intellectual achievement was evident as well. Hibah is a scholar of the humanities in the most world-changing sense of the word ‘scholar.’”
Khan recently received the 2024 award for Outstanding Graduating Senior in Indian and South Asian Studies presented by the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures.
As an early graduate, she plans to take two gap years before enrolling in law school to potentially pursue Civil Rights Litigation Law. Currently, she’s in the middle of applying for jobs and is particularly interested in roles within nonprofits, law firms, and state government.
