Member File: Hanaa Khan
The Deets
Senior at Greenville Tech Charter High School; currently taking college courses in algebra, children’s literature, American government, and management, as well as three high school courses. Will graduate this spring with an Associate Degree.
Has applied to Clemson (first choice), University of South Carolina and Furman. Will only need two more years of college to get a full undergraduate degree.
2023-24 intern with LWV-Greenville
Born in Morganton, NC; moved to Greenville in 2012; lives in the Greer area.
Has a younger sister, Rida, who is 14 (future LWV intern?)
Hanaa Kahn
What brought you to the LWV in Greenville?
My student advisor at Students In Action encouraged me to apply for the intern position with LWV Greenville. As the legislative reporter for Students In Action at Greenville Tech, I was focused on registering voters and getting students involved. I had created a town hall at Greenville Tech to register students to vote and got about 20 new voters. LWV’s emphasis on voter registration and education meshed perfectly with these interests. I started in August and will continue as an intern until February. So far I have worked on a promotional video for National Voter Registration Day; worked as a timekeeper at one of the local candidate debates; and created a report on voter registration and civic engagement based on interviews of a local politician, LWV members and high school social studies teachers, which led me to develop some questions for the Greenville candidate forum. I have also helped to register new voters at the new citizen ceremonies, and was able to sit in on one of the ceremonies.
What would you like to see Greenville LWV do in the next year or so?
I’d like to see us continue the good work in educating and empowering voters and promoting diversity & inclusion and equal representation in the political process.
What is the most surprising/interesting thing you’ve learned from being in the LWV?
The most surprising thing is the passion of the members for registering voters and making sure that peoples’ voices are heard. LWV has made a difference!
What is the best place you’ve traveled to?
My favorite place to visit is the region of Kashmir in the Himalayas, between India, Pakistan and China, where my grandparents live. It has a breathtakingly beautiful landscape, beautiful flowers, friendly people, and a vibrant culture. I love the paneer that my grandparents make with the local milk. I occasionally make it at home but it doesn’t taste the same.
What’s the story that your family tells about you whenever they get together?
When I was 3 or 4, we were celebrating my birthday and I saw the door was open. I thought “I want to go outside.” Even though it was nighttime, I wandered outside without telling anyone! I was gone for what seemed to me like quite some time before folks noticed I wasn’t around. Of course my parents were very worried and looking for me. It turns out I had walked across a busy street and was wandering around another neighborhood. A kind lady saw me and took me in hand, walked around and saw my house with all the people gathered, and asked if I belonged there. No one could believe I had crossed this busy street! We still talk about it to this day.
The Member File is produced by Jo Anne Hennigan. Interested in sharing? Reach out to her.