Leading EDGE

Student Spotlight
Yanit Asamnew
Student and Campus Leader at
Montgomery College in Maryland

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Hear from Montgomery College student, Yanit Asamnew, on her volunteer experiences and leadership development through the Ethiopian Eritrean Student Association, the student activities board, and the MC Leads Leadership Program on campus.

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TNPA: Hi Yanit! Can you first tell us about yourself and your involvement on campus?

Yanit: My name is Yanit Asamnew, I was born and raised in Ethiopia and moved to the U.S. when I was almost 18. I’m a student at Montgomery College in Maryland. I’m currently majoring in general studies: STEM and Biological Science. I will be graduating from Montgomery College and planning on transferring into a 4-year college, but I haven’t decided which college I will be attending. At Montgomery College, the first leadership program I took was MC Leads, which motivated me to join the Student Senate and then the STEM Ambassadors, where I served as the head of STEM Ambassadors for the Takoma Park campus, followed by the Student Activities Board. I also served as the Vice President of the Ethiopian Eritrean Students Association, and later became the president.

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TNPA: Can you tell us more about the MC Leads Leadership Program including what it is, your involvement, and why it was important for you to participate?

Yanit: MC Leads is a 10-week leadership program that’s offered at all three campuses. This leadership program is designed for students who are interested in leading, learning, and working on their weaknesses to become better leaders and make a positive impact on their community. Students participate in weekly workshops, engage campus and community leaders, and work on understanding our strengths and weaknesses and how to work effectively with others. Not only do these students get a chance to meet with their campus leaders, but they also get a chance to interview them.

My involvement in MC Leads began in the fall 2023 cohort, when I participated in different workshops that helped me navigate my strengths and weaknesses, challenged me, and elevated my leadership. I also had a chance to connect with campus leaders and students to share ideas and learn from one another.

Participating in this leadership program also helped me understand my weaknesses and strengths, learn how to communicate, build confidence, grow my connections, and manage conflicts. Overall, it played a major role in my life and helped me build a great leadership foundation.

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TNPA: Sounds like a great program! Many may not realize the opportunities that are available to turn your volunteer experiences into a career through the nonprofit sector. What have you learned from your time leading and volunteering for campus groups like the Ethiopian Eritrean Student Association (EESA) and student activities board?

Yanit:  Through my time in leadership, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of the importance of good leadership skills and a clear organizational structure to keep a group active, engaging, and impactful.

In EESA, we started with not more than 15 members, and then we had to strategize and listen to what the students wanted. We turned our attention to the current members and asked them questions to help us understand the student body more. After that, we focused on member recruitment and retention. Within just one semester, we had many students; sometimes, around 30-40 students would attend our meetings. We focused on marketing and event planning for the upcoming meeting. Having this strategy helped us grow our numbers and motivated us to do more to create awareness about the culture.

With the student activities board, I saw firsthand how valuable it is to have a team that’s adaptable, mission-driven, and supportive of one another. It involved budgeting, marketing, volunteer coordination, and event planning.

This experience gave me a real-world leadership experience. I’ve learned many skills, like conflict management, public speaking, team management, and event coordination that are directly transferable to careers in nonprofit management, community outreach, and program coordination.

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TNPA: Love that! Tell us more about the MC Spirit of Services award and some of the volunteer opportunities you participated in.

Yanit:  The MC Spirit of Service Award meant a lot to me because it reminded me how important it is to stay connected to your community and find ways to give back, no matter how big or small. One of the volunteer opportunities I really enjoyed was with Learn in Shelter, where I tutored kids virtually. I helped them with schoolwork and just tried to be someone they could talk to and count on, especially since many were dealing with tough situations.

I also volunteered remotely with Hunger 4 Change, where I worked on a few projects, such as customer outreach and market research focused on how water scarcity affects different towns. I helped draft outreach messages and took part in next step discussions, where we talked about ways to better support the people in those communities. It was a great experience because it showed me how much work goes on behind the scenes to make these kinds of programs successful.

Aside from that, I’ve stayed involved on campus by volunteering at different SAB and SGA events, helping out during Mental Health Awareness Month, and participating in the Mobile Market, where we helped distribute food to families in need. Every experience taught me something different, and I’m grateful I had the chance to be a part of it.

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TNPA: Congrats on your award and well deserved! So, what’s one of your favorite moments from serving your community whether through volunteering or campus involvement?

Yanit: One of my favorite moments while volunteering was my recent involvement at the Port Isable Island with Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Montgomery College. I learned a lot about the Port Isable Island and got to clean the beach. I also got the chance to see shooting stars and some planets like Jupiter and Mars. This experience will forever stay in my heart, and I will forever cherish it.

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TNPA: That’s amazing, Yanit. Unfortunately, we’re at the end of our interview, but before we go, is there anything else you would like to share about your volunteer experiences or leadership opportunities that would inspire other students to get more involved in nonprofit work?

Yanit: One thing I learned through this experience is giving back doesn’t have to be something big. It can be as simple as giving your attention to a certain person. Participating in these experiences made me realize that I can work on myself as well on my community by giving back in a way that creates a fostering and nurturing environment while also growing up. Doing this and knowing that I’m not expecting anything in return also gives me a different feeling of accomplishment.

Contact Yanit

LinkedIn: Yanit Asamnew
Email: Yanit.med22@gmail.com

See past student
spotlights here.