Zayaan Khan standing out of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway
  • May 4, 2026

  • UC Irvine School of Social Sciences commencement speaker Zayaan Khan, ’26 social policy and public service and quantitative economics, reflects on growth, purpose and community

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Zayaan Khan did not expect to become a commencement speaker. When he arrived at UC Irvine as a social policy and public service major, he was still figuring out where he fit. Four years later, he stands as a leader in the School of Social Sciences, preparing to address his graduating class with a message shaped by research, community and personal growth.

“I came in like any other freshman, not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life,” he says. “Over time, I built that confidence through the community at UC Irvine and by developing my professional identity.”

That evolution, from uncertainty to clarity, from hesitation to leadership, now shapes the message he hopes to share with his fellow graduates.

Finding direction through purpose

Khan’s path to UC Irvine began with a long-standing interest in service. Growing up in Fremont, California, he was involved in student advocacy and civic engagement, even serving as a student representative on his local school board as a high schooler. When it came time to choose a college, he was drawn to a program that reflected those interests.

“What drew me to UC Irvine was its social policy major,” he says. “I hadn’t seen another program like it, and it matched my interest in policy and government.”

Once on campus, that interest evolved. Where high school had pointed him toward policy and civic engagement, UC Irvine pushed him toward research and direct community work as more immediate avenues for change. Field studies projects connected him directly with communities, including work with Muslim refugees navigating life in the United States, and shifted how he thought about what research could actually do.

“I learned that research is an avenue to make change, and that’s something that I’m very attracted to,” he says.

That analytical orientation has roots that go back further than college. Khan has been playing chess since first grade and now teaches the game in after-school programs in Irvine.

“Having that kind of analytical brain that I developed through chess helps me in my research,” he says.

At the same time, he developed a growing interest in the technical side of research. Adding a second major in quantitative economics allowed him to build skills in statistics, econometrics and data analysis, complementing his community-focused work.

Jeanett Castellanos, social sciences associate dean of curriculum and instruction and professor of teaching, points to the breadth of what Khan has built over four years, including a full year of ethnography work, more than 300 hours of community service and research experience using Python and R, programming languages commonly used for working with data.

“His analytical and research skills provide him a unique ability to bridge statistics and economics when addressing mental health, family systems, and social needs,” she says.

Khan leads a congregation of Muslim students in the sunset prayer at the MSU Welcome Week Beach Bonfire, the first MSU event he planned as president.Confidence, community and faith

If Khan’s academic interests sharpened over time, so did his sense of self. Early on, he describes himself as hesitant, unsure of his place. That changed through involvement in campus life, particularly within the Muslim Student Union (MSU), where he found both community and purpose and now serves as president. What once felt out of reach gradually became part of his everyday reality.

“Freshman year coming in I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m going to be on the board of this club,’” he says. “And now, here we are.”

Central to that growth is his faith, which guides both his personal and academic life. He describes it as a framework for how he approaches service, community and responsibility, shaping the way he engages with others and the work he chooses to pursue. During Ramadan, that commitment takes visible form. Under his leadership, MSU provides free evening meals for students breaking their fast, creating a space for connection during a time that can otherwise feel isolating. The gatherings regularly draw large crowds and offer a sense of belonging for many students on campus.

“It makes a lot of people feel welcome,” he says. “It’s honestly very challenging to do Ramadan alone.”

That emphasis on belonging is rooted in his upbringing as the middle child in a family of five siblings, where community and connection were constants. At UC Irvine, he sought to recreate that same sense of home.

“Coming to UC Irvine and, for the first time, being in community with other Muslims helped me feel more comfortable expressing my faith publicly,” he says.

A message shaped by growth

After graduation, Khan will continue his education in a new direction. He has been accepted into a master’s program in counseling psychology with a concentration in marriage and family therapy, where he hopes to build on his commitment to community-centered work.

“I hope to use that degree not only to provide mental health care, but also to address community needs from a preventative perspective,” he says. “Especially within Muslim communities, where mental health can be misunderstood or stigmatized, this approach can help support healing.”

It is a vision that has not gone unnoticed by those who have watched him develop it.

"A sensitive and culturally responsive advocate of mental health,” says Castellanos, “he will be an outstanding addition to the field."

As he prepares to address his fellow graduates, Khan returns to a belief that has shaped his time at UC Irvine: growth comes from engagement and learning carries responsibility. His journey from a quiet first-year student to a campus leader and commencement speaker reflects that idea. On graduation day, he will carry that perspective with him, shaped by years of research, service and community. For Khan, what you learn matters most in how you choose to use it.

-Jill Kato for UC Irvine School of Social Sciences
-pictured: Zayaan Khan, courtesy of Luis Fonseca, UCI Social Sciences. Khan leads a congregation of Muslim students in the sunset prayer at the MSU Welcome Week Beach Bonfire, the first MSU event he planned as president.

 

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