Azeem Khan
Azeem Khan, a member of the Honors College from Charleston, will graduate with a degree in political science and minors in business cybersecurity and philosophy.
He has served as a Presidential Student Ambassador, the co-chair of the Mountaineer Fentanyl Education Task Force and a mentor for the WVU Autism Support Program while holding several leadership positions in the Student Government Association.
The 26th WVU Truman Scholar, Khan has a deep passion for public policy advocacy and problem solving and has worked tenaciously to improve the accessibility of mental health and addiction services on campus and across West Virginia through internships, leadership roles and service-oriented projects.
His grandparents immigrated to the United States from Pakistan in 1963, propelling Khan’s passion to spend his life giving back to a country and state that has given his family so much.
Khan said he believes working in public service is not a career, but a way of life and his purpose is to do everything “humanly possible” to contribute to improving the lives of others.
As a freshman, he watched students grapple with mental health amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an eye-opening experience that propelled him to run for SGA on a platform aimed at improving resources on campus. As a member, he spearheaded the Mountaineer Resilience Project, a legislative bill to allocate COVID-19 relief funds to mental health resources for college students across the state.
Khan, who witnessed the opioid epidemic sweep across his hometown while growing up and decided that he “didn’t want to wait a decade to help make a difference,” created the Mountaineer Fentanyl Education Task Force, a group of students who collaborate with the U.S. Department of Justice to educate their communities on the synthetic opioid.
He also served as a legislative intern for U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in Washington and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia in Clarksburg, experiences that have helped him hone his problem-solving skills and solidified his desire to dedicate his life to public service.
His most significant academic experience was working to research state economic development strategies to protect customers and businesses from cybersecurity breaches as part of his at Honors EXCEL Program project. During this immersive learning opportunity, he served as an intern with the Government Relations at WVU where he worked with faculty to create a safe harbor law and pursue grant funding for a cybersecurity resilience center.
In recognition of his academic excellence, leadership and commitment to service, he was also named a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship.
After graduation, he plans to attend law school, and ultimately, he wants to work on the frontlines to find solutions to the opioid epidemic in West Virginia.