“I am from South Jordan, Utah, studying mining and engineering. In my case, the University of Utah was everything I wanted out of school. There are not many places you can go where you have such a large and diverse student body, but also at the same time being in a place where you can stand out and be a bigger fish in an already big pond. Every single club on campus wants you to be there—even if it’s new and uncomfortable. Be okay with the uncomfortable and join clubs when you come to the U.

The most meaningful thing I have done during my time on campus was run for ASUU president. Unfortunately, we did not win, but I think going through those motions of running the campaign, getting to know the student body and the issues surrounding our institution and trying to come up with solutions, was super helpful to me. It changed the way I look at and approach things moving forward. I always had the idea that there’s always a solution but in the end of that experience I really realized solutions take a lot more time, money and thought. The loss taught me perseverance and that there will always be other opportunities that come your way.

I’m on the student alumni board, and we focus a lot on connecting with alumni. One thing I hope to gain outside of my degree is building those connections to the University of Utah and help spread that passion to alumni.

My first year as a presidential intern we had one of our advisors, Martha Bradley Evans—who has a Ph.D., has written plenty of books and was a professor in the school of architecture—came up with a school for teachers. It was essentially a place where teachers could go to learn to teach. Martha was looking for a solution to get everyone on even ground. Her ability to care for students and faculty and her leadership to set that up was super impactful and gave me someone to look up to. There are always things to learn from and ways to be better.”

—Humzah Khan is a third-year student studying mining and engineering from South Jordan, Utah.