The 2023 commencement speaker, WTMC student Leylan Kazi, poses outside of the Student Center. In her speech, Kazi wants to tell graduates to “always be a lifelong learner.” Paula Farmer | Washtenaw Voice
Grad speaker, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society president hopes to treat sickness worldwide
By Willow Symonds
Staff Writer
An honor society’s leader should ideally feel comfortable presenting before an audience. Luckily, 17-year-old WTMC student Leylan Kazi is the rare person who enjoys public speaking.
“I like to see if I can make an impact on anyone with the words I’m speaking,” she said.
Even before she had the qualifications to be a Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society member, Kazi was “super involved and enthusiastic, [and] always leading the meetings,” according to the organization’s adviser, Veronica Capraru. These qualities made Kazi a good candidate for becoming Phi Theta Kappa’s president this school year.
“I watched her develop as a leader throughout the years,” Capruaru said. “Especially at an age where not a lot of students see themselves as leaders, she really sets an example and thrives.”
Due to Kazi’s love for public speaking and her “phenomenal” work in Phi Theta Kappa, Capraru encouraged her to apply to try out as this year’s commencement speaker. Kazi felt unsure at first, but once she agreed, she wrote a sample speech about students’ point of view during these unusual last few years.
When auditioning, however, she had no voice.
“I’d recently gotten over being sick, so … I think that showed [the judges], ‘Wow, she can loudly whisper and present a speech nicely,’” Kazi joked. “I think I was chosen because I had a way with my words … and I really connected with how students feel.”
Kazi attended Huron High School her freshman year, but she wanted a “smaller environment” with fewer students per class. While she still rows for Huron’s crew team, she enrolled at WTMC three years ago and has taken college classes since Winter 2021. This was when she realized how much she loves biology and chemistry, especially in her lab classes.
On May 20, 2023, Kazi will graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate degree in General Math and Science.
She worked as a Student Ambassador her sophomore and junior years, this being her first job, though she didn’t know she got paid until after starting. She’s also a recipient of STEM Scholars, where she often sought advice from WCC’s Dean of Science, Math, Engineering, Technology, Tracy Schwab.
“Always seek out mentors because you’re always going to learn from others,” Kazi advised.
One of her STEM idols is William Foege, a former CDC (Center for Disease Control) director and epidemiologist who was instrumental in eradicating smallpox. In January 2022, Kazi – then the Vice President of Finance and Funding – personally invited Foege to speak to the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
This semester, Kazi would ride in the car with her mom, listening to Foege’s speeches for inspiration on her commencement speech. She also explained how disenfranchised places, like impoverished countries and refugee camps, have little accessibility to vaccines and simple medicine.
“I want to make [vaccines and medicine] accessible to others around the world,” she said.
In hopes of helping people on the same scale as Foege, Kazi will attend the University of Michigan this fall, double majoring in Public Health and Biology, Health, and Society.
She believes her majors set a good “balance” in the medical field.
“Public Health is learning about the real world and the impact,” Kazi said. “Then you have Biology, Health, and Society, where you’re taking all these biochemistry classes [and] learning all the science.”
Because she “loves WCC’s small class sizes,” the main reason she switched to WTMC, Kazi will be joining the Residential College of Literature, Science, and Arts at UofM. This program lets those enrolled take classes with only nine to 20 students.
Though Kazi majors in the science aspect of LSA, she hopes to engage with the fine arts by joining an a cappella group and continuing theater. She’s always loved performing, which she regards as using similar skills to public speaking.
In her commencement speech, she “wanted to speak about how, yes, we’re closing this chapter, which is super exciting … but it’s important to always be a lifelong learner,” she said. “There’s so much more to your story.”
The graduation ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 20 at 9:20 am in the George Gervin GameAbove Center (formerly known as the EMU Convocation Center).
