A unique heritage rooted in immigration

A unique heritage rooted in immigration
Rice alumna wins a Soros Fellowship

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News Staff

Immigration is a key issue in this year’s presidential campaign, but Noorain Khan ’06 is already thinking beyond November. Khan was recently awarded a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for her forward thinking, classroom leadership and community involvement.

“This scholarship is an opportunity for me to speak about issues that are incredibly important to Americans — things like immigration laws and civil liberties,” Khan said. “This is especially important as the U.S. grapples with policy questions of immigration during a time when the public discourse is dominated by the words ‘illegal’ and ‘them.'”  

NOORAIN KHAN

One of 30 fellows selected from more than 1,000 applicants, Khan will receive a $20,000 grant and half the cost of tuition for her graduate studies. Khan plans to attend law school but has not yet decided where.

The Soroses, Hungarian immigrants and American philanthropists, established the fellowship program in 1997 because they wished to “give back” to the country that had afforded them and their children such great opportunities. They also felt that assisting young new Americans at a critical point in their education was an unmet need.

“The purpose of the fellowship is to make public the compelling, rich global narratives that have become uniquely American narratives.” Khan said. “We are strengthened for our unique heritage rooted in immigration.”

Soros Fellowships are awarded to new Americans — resident aliens, naturalized U.S. citizens or those who are the children of two parents who are both naturalized citizens. The grant is intended to support individuals who are loyal to their country of origin but will continue to regard the United States as their principal residence and focus of national identity.

“Being American is part who I am and the way I view the world. It informs the urgency I feel to make a meaningful contribution to society,” said Khan, whose parents are naturalized citizens originally from Pakistan.

Through the fellowships, the Soroses also hope to highlight the contributions of new Americans to the U.S.

Throughout her time at Rice, Khan volunteered with the Girl Scouts, earned a Rhodes Scholarship and worked with the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. She held summer internships in Washington, D.C., and Pakistan, working for Amnesty International and similar organizations.

“I think it’s really important to find interesting and engaging summer internships in cities you’ve never been before,” Khan said. “I also think that study abroad and traveling as much as possible were key to globalizing my context and expanding my frame of reference.”  

Khan said that Rice’s balance between being a tightly knit campus and a major research university allowed her to thrive. In addition to her mentors, David Cook, associate professor of religious studies, and Elora Shehabuddin, assistant professor of humanities and political science, Khan said the Baker Institute influenced her.

“The Baker Institute, my major departments and professors were absolutely key in helping me grow,” Khan said. “I think the Baker Institute, especially under the direction of Ambassador Djeredjian, is one of Rice’s greatest assets. It provided me with countless opportunities to grow and experience facets of policy in a substantive way.”

Khan participated in the Baker Institute’s Student Forum, Summer in D.C. internship program, Energy Forum and Science and Technology Program. She graduated magna cum laude from Rice University with degrees in political science, religious studies and women, gender and sexuality studies.

A Barbara Jordan Scholar while at Rice, Khan has an interest in gender and Islam and wrote her senior thesis on veiling Muslim women in Houston. As a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, Khan conducted further research on the veiling of Muslim women, with a comparative focus on veiling practices in Pakistan and the U.S. She was a recipient of the Aparicio Prize for Best Paper in Religious Studies at Rice and was named among “Young Women of Distinction” by Girl Scouts U.S.A., an honor awarded to one of the top 10 Girl Scouts in the country, for her work in community organizing.

As a Rhodes Scholar, Khan is currently pursuing her master’s in philosophy in migration studies at the University of Oxford, where she also co-hosts a weekly popular culture radio show and podcast.