Recognizing Rockefeller Center Student Program Assistant: Asha Wills ‘17

Asha initially became involved with the Rockefeller Center her sophomore year by participating in the Management and Leadership Development Program (MLDP) and in the Create Your Path program. These programs caused her to think about how she could align her academic and career interests with her personal goals. Asha next enrolled in the Rockefeller Global Leadership Program (RGLP) because of her mentor, who served as a student program assistant for RGLP at the same. Asha reflects that being a participant in RGLP was an “incredible experience where I met people I otherwise wouldn't have met.”

In her junior year, Asha completed an exchange program in Copenhagen, Denmark and volunteered in Peru through Dartmouth’s Center for Service, where she was constantly thinking about the principles she learned in RGLP. She kept in contact with Vincent Mack, the program officer for RGLP, and when she returned to campus, she joined the Rockefeller Center student staff as a student program assistant for RGLP.

This term is Asha’s third term in this position. Her supervisor, Vincent Mack, remarks that “it’s now senior winter for Asha, and I appreciate all the growth I have seen in her. I’m also grateful for the growth that she has bolstered in me,” says Vincent. “I take great joy in how Asha deploys her critical thinking skills, creativity, and innovation with this Rocky program”

Asha has always been attracted to idea of global leadership, thinking about how one’s cultural perspective informs one’s understanding of what it means to be a leader. She describes her position in RGLP as allowing her to “continue learning and living what I had been taught as a participant and to create a space for other students on campus to have that type of experience.” She characterizes RGLP as a “a unique space that gives students a level of introspection that many students don’t take time to do because of the Dartmouth’s fast-paced environment.” She finds her work engaging and valuable because RGLP draws from a diverse cohort of students, which leads students to have interesting conversations where they learn more from each other.

Her experience as a student program assistant for RGLP influenced her understanding how and why people respond differently to situations and helped her better understand how people’s cultural background influence their reactions in discussions on campus. According to Asha, “every space has a culture,” whether it be even on campus or in a workplace, and is liable to the influence of cultural norms.

Vincent Mack observes that “RGLP remains a strong program because of student leaders like Asha. Asha's attitude, strong organizational skills, initiative, fun-personality, and brilliance is on display in the way she strives to make the Rockefeller Global Leadership Program more impactful each term in service to her Dartmouth peers. I’m convinced said attributes will continue to be the underpinning of her success long after Dartmouth.”

Asha is a Sociology modified with Human-Centered Design major and is from Brooklyn, N.Y. She is also President of Chi Delta sorority and serves on the Council on Student Organizations (COSO). This past summer Asha interned in the Human Resources and Philanthropy department of Bloomberg in New York City and plans on continuing to work there after graduation.

Submitted by Bethany Malzman '19, Rockefeller Center Student Program Assistant for Communications