March serves as Women’s History Month and comprises International Women’s Day on March 8, which collectively honor the steadfast work of women in the fight for equality and opportunity. Among our own community at Tisch, women are at the helm of many of the school’s most impactful student organizations where they advocate on behalf of fellow students, collaborate on programming, and pave the way for future classes. We caught up with three student leaders to learn more about wielding their voices for good and the predecessors who inspire their work today.
Danielle Gould, Tisch Undergraduate Student Council (TUSC) President
What drives your commitment to student leadership?
I see leadership as a way to give back to the community I love. Post-lockdown era, there’s been a tremendous return of student programming. Seeing this growth year after year drives me to continue the work to build our community for all current and future Tisch students. Our work in TUSC supports students through club funding, events, and advocating for positive change. I feel grateful for my role in supporting this level of engagement.
How has this position further empowered your voice and vision as a leader?
I’ve learned the importance of long-term thinking. What can we do now that will leave Tisch better than we found it? I’m forced to think big—to think beyond just my experience or knowledge. Peer leadership is not always easy, but serving on the TUSC board has helped me grow my confidence as a leader and inspired me to continue seeking leadership roles in the future.
Who are the women leaders who inspire and shape you?
My mother, Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Michelle Obama, and Dr. Celine Gounder. All of these women are visionaries. They are creative, inspiring, and have overcome so much. I continuously look up to them and hope to one day follow in their footsteps and be a role model for young women like me.
Jamilah Rosemond, Artists in Action (AIA), Former President (‘21-‘22)
What drives your commitment to student leadership?
I am very adamant about making my voice be heard! It was exciting to have the opportunity to be president of a club that really emphasizes activism and the different formats of how you can be an activist. I am the founder of my own girl empowerment blog, Girls with Beauty & Brains, and on there I chat with women in different career fields to provide tools and resources for the young women who view my page. Along with that I’m on the board for Girl Be Heard, an organization that empowers young women and gender expansive youth through socially conscious theatre making. I am very passionate about giving back. With that being said, coming to NYU I knew I wanted to lead and create change with more like-minded students, and through AIA we definitely did just that with our fundraisers, talk backs, and other events.
How has this position further empowered your voice and vision as a leader?
Being president of AIA last fall semester and the past 2 years has empowered my voice by giving me the confidence and tools to organize events and projects around issues that I’m passionate about. [It also] strengthened my use of performance, theatre, and art as a source of activism.
One of the events we did was a performance fundraiser for Sixth Street Community Center (SSCC), which was in collaboration with Liz Kurtz and Arts for Human Sake. SSCC is a non-profit organization that provides fresh fruit and agriculture to the local community. We created an event that consisted of spoken word, singing, and a one act play along the lines of food poverty and community. Creating events like this has fired up my passion to highlight more local and empowering organizations and/or individuals, and that is what I will continue to do in the future.
Who are the women leaders who inspire and shape you?
I would say my mom, Beyoncé, and Viola Davis. My mom is the biggest leader and inspiration In my life and is the reason why I became the leader I am today. She is an accountant and I grew up watching her give back at church and to our community through creating workshops for women of color on how to budget and manage their finances, which is an important skill.
Beyoncé uses music to empower and uplift all people, but especially Black women, and that is activism in itself. To be unapologetically Black in such a mainstream field is such a powerful and inspiring thing!
Viola Davis is a wonderful leader who is very authentic and transparent about her journey to success. Her story makes who she is so inspiring and she motivates me. Also she is a trailblazer in the acting industry and makes every role her own.
Lalit Sritara, Graduate Student Organization (GSO) Vice President
What drives your commitment to student leadership?
Tisch GSO’s mission really speaks to me. It exists to support interdepartmental networking and interdisciplinary collaboration. As a musical theatre writing student from Thailand, musical films have played a huge role in sparking my passion for musicals. And to create a musical film, multidisciplinary collaboration is needed—among filmmakers, musical theatre writers, actors, dancers, designers and so on.
One of my dreams is to write and produce a musical film for the global audience. Further, iconic game-changers tend to combine several disciplines to create something unique. I want to develop relationships with potential collaborators, and support other students across Tisch who wish to do the same. After all, many of us came to Tisch to meet our “someone in the crowd” who can take us “flying off the ground.”
How has this position further empowered your voice and vision as a leader?
Working for the GSO has enabled me to learn about the wide range of works being created and the types of training being provided at Tisch—from theatre to film to ITP to game design and so on. Moreover, it has given me a better understanding of the specific structural factors that would need to be addressed in order to achieve more networking and collaboration across departments. I imagine a future where Tisch students have more opportunities to do so.
Who are the women leaders who inspire and shape you?
There are so many. Some of which are Pimmada Pattana-alongkorn, a Thai musical theatre writer veteran who trained me on-the-job; Nico Juber, a musical theatre writer whom I met in LA and is now opening her Off-Broadway show,; and Tidtaya Sinutoke, an award-winning musical theatre composer and my program alum from Thailand.