Recognizing Rockefeller Center Student Program Assistant Courtney Wong '15

In this series, the Rockefeller Center features our Student Program Assistants, student staff who contribute significantly to the success of the Center’s events, programs, and activities. 

After participating in the Management and Leadership Development Program during the fall of her sophomore year, Courtney Wong '15 knew she wanted to become more involved with the Rockefeller Center. Eager to expand her leadership skillset, she became involved with many of the Center's programs including the Rockefeller Global Leadership Program (RGLP) and the Create Your Path program and attended various public programs. As Courtney began to spend more and more time at the Rockefeller Center, she found the staff to be extremely welcoming and decided that the Center would be a great place to work as a student program assistant.

Student Program Assistant for Public Programs Courtney Wong '15. Photo by Thanh V. Nguyen.

 Courtney began her work with the Rockefeller Center in communications. She spearheaded a new initiative to begin interviewing public program speakers. For these interviews, Courtney conducts a short question and answer session, devises a summary, and submits the pieces to the Rockefeller Center's blog. Eventually, her strong interest in the Center’s public programs led Courtney to become a Student Program Assistant for Public Programs.

"When I started the interview process with the public speakers, I had a lot of freedom to take it where I wanted because nothing like that had really been done before," says Courtney. "It was really exciting for me to be able to sit down, one on one, with really influential people to get a sense of who they are and what they are really like in person."

Courtney works with Joanne Needham, the Rockefeller Center’s Coordinator of Public and Special Events, and a team of other student program assistants to bring public programs to Dartmouth. Courtney interacts with high-profile speakers from the fields of government to public policy to business. A lot of planning goes into these events, and Courtney contributes in a variety of ways. She organizes schedules, prepares and coordinates class visits and, most importantly, ensures outreach to student and community members through advertisements and campus-wide emails. During events, Courtney helps manage audience inflow and handles microphones during the question and answer session.

Courtney loves working at the Rockefeller Center not only because of the great work she does, but also because of the people with whom she does this work. The staff’s support and kindness has made Courtney excited to come into work every single day. This has been especially apparent during Courtney’s last term at Dartmouth, when she is finished taking classes. She spends most of her time at the Center where, as Courtney says, she’s "never bored."

"Courtney has many talents – each of which she has shown during her time working at the Rockefeller Center and all of which we appreciate!" says Joanne. "Her interviewing and writing skills are exemplary, and many a guest speaker have commented about how much he or she has enjoyed the personal one-on-one interview with Courtney."

Even though her academic endeavors do not directly relate to Government or Public Policy, as Courtney is an Economics major, working at the Rockefeller Center has still granted her a unique, valuable set of skills. As a result of interviewing speakers and coordinating with different departments to bring these speakers to Dartmouth, she has enhanced her communication and organizational capabilities—something she will carry with her after graduation.

-Written by Nikita Bakhru '17, Rockefeller Center Student Program Assistant