Christabell Dorcas N. Makokha ‘11 MLDP Winter 2010

Christabell grew up in Eldoret, Kenya, but spent the last two years of high school at the United World College of the Atlantic pursuing the International Baccalaureate and exploring issues of community service and cross-cultural exchanges, in an academic setting. At Dartmouth, she is an engineering science major with a concentration in biomedical engineering. She is involved with the Dartmouth student chapters of NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). She is also a sister in Epsilon Kappa Theta. She has worked as a civic intern at the Tucker Foundation and has been an undergraduate advisor for the last two years. Christabell has been involved in the "Faith in Action" Alternative Spring Break Trip to San Francisco and will be going on the Cross-Cultural Education and Service Program to Nicaragua this winter break. After graduation, she plans to go to graduate school and possibly pursue a career in Product Design. 

Why do you recommend MLDP to your peers? 

• It was a great opportunity for me to explore issues of leadership, professionalism, diversity, problem-solving, among other issues. But most importantly is the fact that I had to develop my own personal development goals and work on those; in this way MLDP provided an opportunity for me to reflect on my leadership/management skills and what I wanted to improve on in those areas,

How do you apply any skills that MLDP has taught you? How has it helped you at Dartmouth? 

• The skills I have found most useful are those that I apply in my Engineering classes all the time. Most of the classes I take involve group projects and presentation; hence the sessions on problem-solving, facilitation, negotiation, dressing for success, and, excel workshop have been most helpful in allowing me to work better in teams.

How are any themes of MLDP applied to student life or campus groups?

• Facilitation is key theme since most students are involved in student-led groups. Diversity in the workplace is also a theme that is applicable to student life since we all come from different walks of life and it is important to be aware of these issues if we are to have successful organizations.