Muskan Walia didn’t intend to become a student leader when she started attending the University of Utah in 2020; she just really didn’t want to pay for printing. 

Now, she’s the 2024-25 student member of the Utah System of Higher Education Board. 

“Our state has a great opportunity right now to be a leader in higher education policy,” Walia said. “As a current student, I am excited and grateful to work with students across Utah to bring our perspective into the conversation.” 

A senior at the U, Walia has extensive leadership experience—including more than two years on the University of Utah’s student senate and two years as a Presidential Intern in Higher Education Leadership at the U. 

“Muskan has a rare combination of modesty and confidence, in addition to the ability to listen to others and get things done,” said Frederick R. Adler, director of the U’s School of Biological Sciences and a mentor to Walia. “Beyond her intellect, passion for justice, and self-confidence, she has an extraordinary sense of humor that brings real joy to her work. That humor is very much part of her ability to see the world from different perspectives and to engage with others.” 

While in the ASUU Senate, Walia served as treasurer and chair. Through her involvement, she’s found her passion and developed as a leader, but it might never have happened if she hadn’t wanted a solution to her printing problems. 

“I had a professor who required us to print out our exams,” Walia said. “The exams were timed, so I would have to find a printer, print my exam, go back to my room and take it all within the allotted window. When I told him about my issue, his solution was to get an iPad.”  

Walia wondered how other students at the U handled printing, so she asked around. It turns out, she wasn’t alone in her concern. Many students were bothered by the current system—especially the cost. Walia’s desire to do something about the system led her to join the Associated Students of the University of Utah’s First Year Council. 

“When I applied, I told them the only thing I cared about was printing,” Walia said. 

However, that was about to change. 

Walia’s second semester of college, she was appointed to be the College of Science’s senator. Joining the First Year Council sparked her interest in grassroots campus organizing and the issues she was concerned about expanded. Soon she wasn’t just working on free printing, but an effort to bring free menstrual products to the U. During her two-plus years of service, students passed legislation making menstrual products free on campus and providing all students $2 worth of printing each semester. 

Once student leaders at the U succeeded in providing free period supplies to students, students from other campuses started asking how they did it. This introduced Walia to the fact that the U existed inside an entire higher education system. 

“It was so cool to learn that the U has sister institutions and to get to help student leaders not only on those campuses but on campuses throughout the West,” Walia said. “This is why I wanted to be a Presidential Intern—so I could keep learning how the university works.” 

Walia’s board appointment provides her a formal opportunity to continue working with students across Utah’s Higher Education System, which is the part of the job she is looking forward to the most. 

“Muskan will bring to the board the perspective of a generation who grew up in a very different world from the older board members, ranging from comfort with social media to concerns about the future of our planet,” Adler said. “As USHE plans for an uncertain future, she brings to the table a passion for making that a better future through education and through involving  everyone in the process.”