Musfirah Khan is graduating from the WSU Murrow College of Communication this weekend.
Khan, senior multimedia journalism major, is originally from Seattle and started working for The Daily Evergreen, the student newspaper at Washington State University, in spring of 2023.
Khan said that she has had an interest in writing from a very early point in her life, which is what prompted her to apply to work at The Daily Evergreen,
“I’ve always loved writing, ever since I was in middle school, I knew that I wanted to do something with English,” Khan said.
Khan said she originally wanted to be an English teacher, but ended up changing her major to journalism. She picked journalism to follow her passion for helping the community and giving representation to underrepresented people.
She favored the aspect of journalism that allowed her to connect with many different types of people, she said.
“I was inspired to kind of be that voice that uplifts people and their stories,” she said.
Rehael Mufti, WSU graduate and Khan’s best friend, said that when it comes to Khan’s work in journalism she looks for all sides of the story.
“As I’ve know her, I’ve seen her through her entire like degree and stuff, she looks at all sides of the story and then comes to a decision and if she’s really passionate about certain things, she really sits there and makes sure you get her point of view when it comes to journalism,” she said.
This goes for her writing style as well, Mufti said.
“She’s been showing me all the things that she’s been doing …it’s such an interesting way and experience of just seeing her world, like her perspective,” she said.
Khan said one of her favorite parts about WSU is the teachers she has encountered throughout her academic journey.
“My communications teachers, Tracy Simmons and Alison Boggs were both great professors to me. They both suggested that I write for The Daily Evergreen, which eventually inspired me to submit an article and officially become a reporter, for them I am very grateful,” Khan said.
Khan said she was at first hesitant to join the Daily Evergreen.
“It made me nervous to think about my writing being published,” Khan said.
Khan said she was worried she would make mistakes or offend someone.
Mufti, however, said she is one of the most hard working and passionate person she knows.
“She will go above and beyond for anyone that she loves, super hard working, like the amount of times that I’ve tried calling her and she’s like, ‘I’ve got this work to get done. Whenever I’m free, then I’ll get back to you,’” she said.
Khan was hesitant about the workload though and how that would affect her academics
“However, I’m really glad that I gathered up my courage and made the decision to work for The Daily Evergreen,” Khan said.
Khan said The Daily Evergreen has provided her with great experience and amazing opportunities that she doesn’t think she would have found anywhere else.
Khan’s little sister, Maleekah Khan, said that her sister loves her job at The Daily Evergreen
“She always talks about how much she loves her job and I can really tell that it’s not just her but the people around her also know how talented she is, you know, so I’m really excited for her like after she graduates I feel like it’s just gonna be like, I think it’s gonna be great for her. I think she’s really gonna thrive in her workforce era,” she said.
Khan said one of her favorite pieces was covering the Earthquake in Turkey that occurred in 2023. She said it was interesting to be able to connect a global event to Washington State University.
For her article on the Turkey Earthquake, Khan connected with WSU students and faculty who had family back home in Turkey. Raising awareness for the Earthquake and wrote about how the event of the earthquake impacted WSU students, faculty, and their loved ones. Stories like those motivate her to continue sharing people’s stories through the news, she said.
Khan said for her post-graduation plans, she is applying for internships and jobs in Seattle, Washington near her family. She eventually wants to be an investigative reporter or foreign correspondent.
