Maha Shoaib

With a heartfelt fire to improve the lives of refugees, Maha Shoaib is well-prepared for a life of courageous leadership.

A senior in the Honors College majoring in clinical neuroscience, Maha’s passion for refugee work has led her to devote much of her four years at Virginia Tech to helping refugee families resettling in Blacksburg.

Through leadership positions with the Association of Muslim Volunteers, Maha has worked in fundraising and volunteer initiatives for the campus community and for other communities in need, including hospital patients, students fasting Ramadan away from family, and those benefiting from food pantries in Blacksburg and Roanoke.

In her terms as president and student advisor with the association, Maha discovered her passion for work with refugees while leading a student group preparing hygiene kits for families arriving from Afghanistan. While getting to know these families, she created and led an initiative to help them resettle by fundraising and collecting clothing, furniture, toys, school supplies, and food from the Blacksburg and Virginia Tech communities. Maha multiplied the reach and impact of the initiative by promoting it to various networks and by leading her team to partner with other campus organizations through VT Engage.

Maha organized a series of fundraisers and donation drives to support arriving families and she created student groups to transport large items from the homes of donors into families’ new apartments. She coordinated transportation for families to attend weekly prayers and designed support for teenagers to adjust to their new communities through events.

With Blacksburg Refugee Partnership, Maha sources volunteer childcare so families can attend English classes and she tutors an elementary school student in math and English.

In the spring of 2022, Maha worked with a graduate partner through the International Humanitarian Fund of Virginia Tech’s Student Engineers’ Council to secure a donation to provide $15,000 in support for refugee families.

Alongside a research team in Virginia Tech’s Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies, Maha helps two regional resettlement partnerships identify ways to improve their services, including training and cultural competency. As a paid intern for the center, Maha works for a nonprofit to fundraise and help student refugees in Kenya apply to global universities and prepare for success when they attend.

Maha plans to become a physician to provide women’s healthcare and to build her own NGO providing accessible healthcare services to resettling populations.

"Courageous leadership means to be empathetic,” said Maha. “Kindness, compassion, and empathy allow a leader to invest in a cause and evoke change for the sake of helping those in need. It is my fundamental duty to instill change in the lives of those who seek refuge.”

I am honored to present the Aspire! Award for PREPARE FOR A LIFE OF COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP to Maha Shoaib.