IIR Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Zahra Khan
By: Dr. Marissa Kiss, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Insititute for Immigration Research (IIR)
Dr. Zahra Khan recently graduated with her Ph.D. from George Mason University in December 2024. While earning her Master’s Degree in sociology at George Mason University, Dr. Khan worked at the Institute for Immigration Research (IIR) as a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) from the Fall of 2013 to the Summer of 2015. After completing her Master’s degree, Dr. Khan worked as a Research Associate for Evidera for several years before returning to George Mason University to pursue her Ph.D. in sociology. Dr. Khan’s graduate school journey is a story of perseverance, dedication, survival, hope, and the determination to build a better future.
Reflecting on her research interests, Dr. Khan noted that she was always interested in sociology even before she arrived to the United States. Dr. Khan grew up in Pakistan and had the opportunity to take sociology classes while she was in high school. Although she wanted to continue studying sociology in college, Dr. Khan highlighted, that where she is from “you don’t have many degree options” and what you can study is limited. As a result, Dr. Khan chose to study economics. However, she did stress that she took as many courses as possible within the social sciences, despite the fact that she was advised against pursuing a career in the social sciences because careers in this line of work are not rewarded with high salaries.
Despite this, Dr. Khan followed her passion which was rooted in trying to understand the inequalities around her, especially pertaining to women, mothers, and even her own sister and how they were limited based on their gender. Dr. Khan wanted to investigate “how society exists or continues to exist the way it does, and why no one challenges the status quo…why it might appear that these women are conforming… and how they try to strategize and live within a conservative setup and patriarchal structure”. As a young girl, Dr. Khan had a very ambitious goal that she wanted to “bring down the patriarchy,” but she realized that it is not something that happens overnight.
Wanting a life of independence, Dr. Khan applied to graduate schools in different countries around the world despite her mother being opposed to it. In her search, Dr. Khan stumbled upon George Mason University after hearing about it from a friend. Intrigued by the sociology department, Dr. Khan decided to apply, however she did not have any money for the application fee so she ended up borrowing money from her friends. Dr. Khan was accepted into the sociology program and was offered a GRA position at the IIR soon after she arrived.
Reflections on the Graduate Research Assistantship at the IIR
Dr. Khan noted that before she started working at the IIR she did not have a great deal of knowledge regarding immigrants in the United States or using Federal datasets and had very basic knowledge of statistics and statistical analysis. However, after being trained in data analysis using the SPSS software package, and working with other IIR staff and graduate students (now IIR alumni) including Dr. Justin Lowry, Dr. Josh Tuttle, Dr. Jessica Emami, Dr. Erin Stevens, Safiya Khalid and Dr. Jean Boucher, Dr. Khan was able to use and apply her skills to tell a story about the positive economic contributions’ immigrants living in the United States make to the U.S. as a whole and in their local community.
Reflecting on her research experience at the IIR, Dr. Khan noted that with open spaces at the IIR, there was a great deal of collaboration, mentorship, knowledge sharing, team building, communication, and data skill development. For example, Dr. Khan stated that you could just walk into Dr. Lowry’s office and he would tell you about mapping and would walk through ArcGIS. And you could walk up to Dr. Tuttle and he would tell you about SPSS and the kind of data he was using.
More importantly, for Dr. Khan, there was a sense of belonging at the IIR. When Dr. Khan first came to the United States, she felt a little lost, lonely, and was homesick. Knowing that IIR Director, Dr. Jim Witte was “always working late and always there,” Dr. Khan would spend as much time at the IIR the first few months she arrived, even walking back to the office at night to eat her dinner so she didn’t feel so lonely. Over time, Dr. Witte provided Dr. Khan with life lessons along the way, including not walking alone at night, and even calling her own father in Pakistan and letting him know that she would be okay. Other IIR staff provided comfort and advice from teaching her how to meal plan on a budget, how to use a credit card at the store, and even using a vending machine.
As Dr. Khan highlighted, the IIR and the people who worked there were her first friends and gave her a sense of belonging and “in many ways the IIR was my refuge. It was more than a workspace. It was a sanctuary…In those first few months it was kind of my entire world…”
For Dr. Khan, although she didn’t realize it at the time, the IIR “gave me everything I needed to succeed in the United States…It gave me mentors, computers, knowledge sharing, data skills, and a sense of belonging…These tools and people, they guided me, and it would shape my success”. The IIR was also a lifeline and her experience working at the IIR was life changing. The IIR gave Dr. Khan a chance to prove herself and thrive, and although she didn’t know it at the time, Dr. Khan was stepping into a space that would change her life forever, and “it really did change my life forever… The IIR studies immigrants. But for one immigrant, it really did change her life.”
Dr. Khan also noted that the IIR is unique in that although operating in a small space, there was a great deal of idea generation taking place. Additionally, for many of George Mason University’s sociology graduate students, the IIR “is the only place where you get to actually apply quantitative skills…you actually use those skills…and can talk about it [skills] in job interviews… and within a professional setting… We are putting our work out there for the general audience”.
Dr. Khan noted that her training in data analysis (e.g., writing code, using SPSS, ArcGIS mapping software, generating insights and data visualizations) allowed her to tell interesting stories about immigrants in the United States which informed her career over the years. Some of these stories involved examining immigrant doctors and the necessary gap they fill within the healthcare industry in the United States. Work on this topic led to Dr. Khan co-authoring an op-ed with Dr. Witte which was published in the Huffington Post. For Dr. Khan she stressed how “for someone who had very basic skills…to come in…and conduct data analysis…and have her work published…was a big deal…. It just validated me. I felt confident about myself.” Other projects Dr. Khan worked on includes a report on immigrant truck drivers and the value they have on the economy. This report was then turned into an op-ed and was also published with the Huffington Post.
Dr. Khan stressed that working at the IIR is more than just providing timely data on immigrants living in the United States. It is also about telling the stories of immigrants through interviews and connecting with staff, faculty, and students at George Mason University, the local community, as well as other immigration and migration scholars. Dr. Khan highlighted the importance of the IIR colloquium series. The monthly IIR colloquium series not only gave Dr. Khan a chance to meet new people, but it provided an opportunity to hear other individuals talk about their work in relation to immigrants and immigration.
Understanding Immigrants
As an immigrant herself and as someone who researched immigrants while at the IIR, Dr. Khan wishes more people understood that:
Immigration is that not just about moving to a new country and crossing a border. It’s also about a journey of resilience, adaptation, and contribution... Immigrants leave behind a familiar world, families, culture, and language in order to build a life in an unfamiliar territory… It is a journey and for many, it is not a choice. It is shaped by complex economic, social, and political factors and when they come to this new country, they often face barriers while contributing to the very fabric of the communities they join…Understanding immigration requires you to know the bigger picture…the overall journey. Despite all that, as the IIR shows, immigrants are successfully contributing in various sectors of the economy despite those challenges. So, it is just not about immigrants seeking opportunity…it is often about survival, hope, and the determination to build a better future. For me, it definitely was a lot about that.
Advice to Mason Students Interested in Building Skills and Conducting Research
Reflecting on her own experience, Dr. Khan stressed that students should utilize the opportunities that the IIR provides such as skill development in data analysis, ArcGIS, and data visualizations. Other advice includes collaborating with fellow co-workers, asking questions, and being flexible and open to learning new skills because “while you may not realize it now, the skills that you will learn [at the IIR] will be used throughout various professional settings. Especially in today’s world, skills related to data and knowing different tools are very valuable.” Additionally, Dr. Khan recommends students to be imaginative in the hypotheses they want to formulate and the research they want to conduct. For Dr. Khan, a strong research question is your roadmap, and it keeps your work focused.
Conclusion
A lot has changed over the past 12 years for Dr. Khan since she first arrived to the United States from Pakistan. Not only did Dr. Khan live out her passion to study gender ideology and patriarchal norms within South Asian immigrant communities, but she was able build a better future for herself and family. Along her graduate school journey, she also met her husband at George Mason University and is a mom to two young boys. Dr. Khan is also embarking on a new chapter and career path as a Senior Research Analyst at Booz Allen Hamilton. Although in her new role she will not be analyzing immigration data, Dr. Khan credits the skills she learned beginning 12 years ago at the IIR to help guide her in her new role.