Recognizing Rockefeller Center Student Program Assistant Dan Fang '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.

Daniel Fang '15 is the Rockefeller Center Student Program Assistant for Management and Leadership Development Program (MLDP) and Rocky Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership (RBEL). While many students assist MLDP, each student program assistant brings something unique, and Dan is no exception. Within MLDP, he oversees the personal case study portion. This is an exercise in which participants identify a personal leadership context where they are encountering difficulties but can begin to apply some of the skills and knowledge they’re gaining from the program. Leadership development is something Dan has taken great interest in over the past year. Dan states, "working with individuals and seeing their potential develop is one of my greatest passions, [which is why] the personal case study is something I thoroughly enjoy." The leadership Dan has honed at the Rockefeller Center has improved the way in which he leads in other areas on campus. Dan states, "Sometimes in frustrating disagreements or miscommunications, I find myself wishing that others have gone through the training and leadership development I’ve been able to experience at Rocky." Perhaps this is why Dan has also been so interested in improving MLDP’s outreach so as to be more intentional in targeting students and communities on campus that would benefit from the program’s leadership development. According to Program Officer Robin Frye, the outreach program he devised and implemented helped to bring in an impressive 95 registrations.

Student Program Assistant for MLDP and RBEL Dan Fang '15. Photo by Thanh V. Nguyen.

Dan especially enjoys working with MLDP and RBEL because he is interested in pursuing international development work through a social entrepreneurship lens. His interests with international development began when he participated in the Dartmouth-Oxford Exchange Program. At Oxford, Dan studied developmental economics and comparative government with a concentration in democratization. Through his coursework, Dan was exposed to international development and returned to Dartmouth intent on furthering his involvement in this field. RBEL allowed Dan the opportunity to explore international development through a social entrepreneurship lens, specifically through joint meetings with Dartmouth's International Development Forum.

Dan Fang introduces a session of the Management and Leadership Development Program. Photo by Abigail Chen '17.

Dan truly appreciates the leadership and culture of professionalism that is fostered through these programs as well as the Rockefeller Center overall. He notes, "I think Rocky has most directly helped me to develop me as an individual and leader, and given me the skills, confidence, and professionalism to bring into the field when I enter it." Dan looks forward to putting his leadership, confidence and professionalism to use after he graduates in June with a degree in Government and Neuroscience.

-Written by Crandalyn Jackson '15, Rockefeller Center Student Program Assistant