Maxwell Alumnus Joins California Wildfire Relief Efforts
In mid-January, days after the devastating Eaton Fire began in Los Angeles County, California, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs alumnus Zayn Aga ’21 joined colleagues from the office of U.S. Rep. Judy Chu at a nearby donation drive for impacted residents.
Long lines of families turned out for support and shared their heartbreaking stories of evacuations and lost homes. Amid the sorrowful scene, Aga recalls watching a group of children playing tag and laughing in the parking lot while their mother waited in line for food and other provisions.
“It was just such a human moment in such a tragic, apocalyptic scenario that it just really struck me that this is something people are going to have to deal with for years, and it’s real people just trying to get through it,” says Aga, who has worked as a field representative in Chu’s Pasadena office for three years.
On the first day of the Eaton fire, Jan. 7, Aga fielded calls from residents who had evacuated, who had lost their homes, and who couldn’t find family members. Some had lost loved ones in the flames. Chu’s district, which covers most of northeastern Los Angeles county and serves nearly 750,000 residents, was heavily impacted by the Eaton Fire; it destroyed nearly 9,500 structures, scorched over 14,000 acres and claimed 17 lives before it was fully contained.
Aga was part of a team advocating for federal aid to support the affected community. They also assisted residents in receiving medical equipment and in recovering lost mail and other critical documents.
“It’s our job and our responsibility to make government work for people,” Aga says, adding that he strives to “make government work for somebody just a little bit better and be a little bit more accessible.”
Aga said he finds purpose in making a difference in small, meaningful ways. Despite evacuating his own home, he gathered supplies and drove across the city, visiting four different centers in search of one still accepting donations. One day he rounded up a lost dog and located its worried owner who had been searching since the fires.
“Helping people in a crisis, and exercising initiative and going the extra mile even when his own safety and property are being threatened, sounds so much like Zayn,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. “He’s the complete Maxwell package—empathy, dedication to service and determination to improve government. I’m very proud of him.”
Aga says his Maxwell schooling helped prepare him to support others in times of need, reinforcing the importance of solving problems one step at a time. He said he gained especially valuable experience interning for U.S. Sen. Charles “Chuck” Schumer and U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi.
“At its core, this was all just people doing their best and trying to be there for one another,” says Aga of his experience.
Story by Mikayla Melo
