Mishaal Khan ’19: A Humanitarian Career Fueled by Faculty Mentorship

It was one of the final days of her senior year at Emmanuel College – campus was quiet, classes had concluded, and she was finishing up one of her last student library assistant shifts at the Cardinal Cushing Library.

She didn’t expect Oxfam America, a Boston-based global nonprofit, to be the organization that called her back, let alone the place where she would build a career.

Today, Khan is a development officer at Oxfam, contributing to fundraising efforts and working with the nonprofit’s U.S-based donors on funding opportunities and giving strategies. It’s also her responsibility to keep donors well-informed on Oxfam’s ongoing efforts and programs to fight inequality and poverty, which she delivers through tailored briefings, events and meetings.

“It’s my job to build meaningful connections and relationships that extend beyond the mundane, that serve as an expression of our shared commitment to humanity,” Khan said.

Of the nonprofit’s main focuses: gender, climate, economic justice and humanitarian response, Khan has recently found herself doing work that is focused on supporting humanitarian response.

For example, this has materialized in the organization of an event in the U.S for Oxfam’s Palestinian partner organizations in May, as well as a virtual briefing in August on the ongoing situations in Syria and Lebanon, featuring Oxfam America’s president. For Khan, it’s “an honor and a privilege” to help organize these efforts and connect people with Oxfam who are concerned for the well-being of people all over the world.

Khan wasn’t always certain that she would study political science or pursue a concentration in international relations and comparative politics, but it’s always been important to her as a person and as a Muslim to be devoted to her faith and public service.

The more she learned, the more her aim to make a difference and her interest in international relations would intertwine.

At Emmanuel, she served as president of the Muslim Student Association, secretary for a mental health initiative called “Active Minds” and as an outreach coordinator for the S.T.A.R.T. program, a student-led social justice organization. And as an undergraduate researcher, she examined genocide in Myanmar and the subsequent Rohingya refugee crisis.

“I knew back then I was eager to contribute to the change-making process. I got the offer from Oxfam, and the rest is history,” Khan said.

She said she constantly draws on her experiences as an Emmanuel undergraduate, like the “eye-opening” conversations she had with Professor of Political Science, Dr. Lenore Martin, on the Syrian refugee crisis and their shared interest in Middle Eastern studies.

Now that interest manifests in Khan’s day-to-day work with donors and philanthropists to raise funds for Oxfam’s relief and support programs.

Every day, Khan recalled, Professor of Political Science Dr. Marie Natoli would start her lesson by saying “Carpe diem” – a call for students to seize the day and make the most of it. It’s a phrase that one of the donors that Khan works with regularly uses, reminding her of how long she has been on her path toward helping people in need.

Along that journey, so many more faculty members were integral to her success, she explained. Dr. Natoli encouraged Khan to pursue Distinction in the Field and go above and beyond with her research, while Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Petros Vamvakas was “instrumental” in helping Khan develop her confidence and ability to ask difficult and sharp questions. 

The list goes on, Khan explained. She still maintains connections with those who supported her, like Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Adam Silver, who always offers a listening ear and invites her to come back to campus as a guest speaker.

“People make a difference…those friends and mentors are still that! We connect for tea now and that mentorship never ended, their doors never closed,” Khan said.