Saara Ashtiani named MSU School of Social Work 2026 Outstanding Senior

April 15, 2026 - Brandon Drain

Michigan State University’s School of Social Work honors Saara Ashtiani as its 2026 Outstanding Senior Award recipient. 

This award recognizes a graduating senior who has demonstrated exemplary academic and extracurricular successes, and a strong sense of leadership, commitment and dedication to MSU. 

“It felt amazing to know that the faculty picked me out of all the students in the program,” Ashtiani discovered her passion for social work during her second year at MSU and found a strong sense of belonging through the Advocacy Scholars Program: A program dedicated to empowering BASW (and MSW) students to build practical advocacy skills through a mentored, student-designed advocacy project while providing scholarship support and opportunities to create real-world social change. 

“The Advocacy Scholars Program really allowed me to build my own name within the School Social Work,” said Ashtiani. “It allowed me to create relationships with different faculty and community members in the Lansing area that I was not familiar with before.” 

Ashtiani credits her success to the support and compassion felt by her advisors and professors.  

“I felt like my professors really wanted to get to know me and appreciated the work that I was turning in,” she said. “It felt good to create those relationships.” 

Internships also played a major role in deciding Ashtiani’s career trajectory.  

Through the MSU School of Social Work’s Field Office, students participate in a built-in internship as part of their coursework. This internship placed Ashtiani in the Lansing community, where she was able to broaden her view about how much good she could do in the world.  

“The internship definitely changed a big direction of my career goals,” she said. “I really appreciate the micro and macro ways the MSU School of Social Work taught me to get involved in the communities that I'm around, and I'm really excited to like incorporate that in my future career goals.” 

Ashtiani is set to graduate on May 3, 2026. She credits her time at MSU with shaping both her career path and her personal growth and encourages others to take every opportunity available to them. 

“Don’t be confined to just your major,” she said. “Even though social work is structured, I was still able to study abroad and get involved in other clubs. Being in social work means understanding the importance of engaging with different communities, so take advantage of that, try new experiences and put yourself out there.”