Neal Chhabra, Secretary of Diversity Initiatives

I have always been fascinated by all the different types of cultures, beliefs, and aspects of people. Everyone is different and I love finding out in what way each person is their own individual. I believe everyone should be themselves at all times and I strive to foster that attitude on campus. I was born in Fairfax, VA as the son of Indian immigrants placing me in the middle of a culture war between my Indian roots and American life. Luckily, with the support of my family, friends, schools, and community, I was able to incorporate both into my life and become my own, unique individual. Everyone should have the same support system I have had to be comfortable with their backgrounds and utilize it to become successful in the future.

On campus, I am a rising junior and a finance & government double major. Over the past two years, I have been involved with a variety of organizations that suit my interests and have allowed me to be my own individual and help promote diversity on a smaller scale. For the past two years I have served on the executive board of the South Asian Student Association where I love performing in and organizing Expressions of South Asia, where the members get to express themselves and their culture through the performing arts. Additionally, last year I was the Treasurer of the Hindu Student Association in which I organized Holi, celebrating equality amongst people by throwing color on one another to make everyone the same. I am a board member of the International Relations Club as Director of Finance, and a member of competitive Model United Nations team. As a traveling team member, I have attended conferences all over the US and abroad, giving me the opportunity to meet a vast array of people from many different countries ranging from Peru to Australia.

In this role, I hope to continue the efforts of my predecessors and work with the Center for Student Diversity, the President’s Office, and the Office of Student Affairs to create the most healthy, diverse campus William & Mary can be. I look forward to a year of successful events starting with our 2nd Annual Socio-Economic Diversity Scholarship Fund 5K in the fall and building up to I AM W&M Week in the spring. If you have any questions, comments, or would like to get involved with any events, please feel free to email me.

Contact: nmchhabra@email.wm.edu

Angel Zhang, Undersecretary of International Affairs

My name is Zhang Junnan (Angel) and I am a member of Class of 2015. I intend to major in Accounting and Economics. Thanks to my high school, I had many international exchange opportunities to other countries such as Singapore, America and India, and these experiences made me come to U.S. for college. In addition to Student Assembly, I am the Secretary of Chinese Undergraduate Students Association (CUSA), in which we have started to help Chinese students make a smooth transition to W&M. I will also be the Resident Assistant in Chinese house in Randolph complex, where I can facilitate many Chinese-learning Americans to gain a better understanding of both Chinese and China.
As an international student, I have been through many hardships and through this position I want to ease the transition for all the international students and assist them in minute details not mentioned in checklists. I am really excited about this job, please feel free to contact me if you need any help or have any suggestions.

Contact: jzhang03@email.wm.edu

Samantha Phillips, Undersecretary of Religious Affairs

Hello! I’m a junior majoring in Business and Psychology. I am excited to be the Undersecretary of Religious Affairs. I’ve been involved with Reformed University Fellowship since my freshman year and am familiar with many other religious organizations on campus. There are so many people at William and Mary who practice so many faiths and also so many who are not religious at all. My goal is to encourage and foster relationships between the various religious organizations and other organizations that are not religiously affiliated in order to further the sense of community at William and Mary and reach out to all corners of campus. I can’t wait to work the rest of the Diversity Initiatives Department to start realizing these goals.

Contact: slphillips@email.wm.edu

Ambika Babbar, Undersecretary of Multicultural Affairs

Hello! My name is Ambika Babbar and I am really looking forward to serving in the Department of Diversity Initiatives this year! Currently I am a junior at the College, studying Neuroscience and Sociology. Outside of this, I am a member of Medical Aid Nicaragua: Outreach Scholarship (MANOS), Delta Delta Delta Sorority, and I am the President of the Hindu Student Association.
I have always been fascinated by the multitude of cultures that we find not only in the United States, but also, on a smaller scale, here on the William & Mary campus. This enthusiasm stems from my own personal experience as a third generation Indian American. Because my family members immigrated to the United States at a time when this demographic only represented less than a tenth of a percent of the total population, they were encouraged to assimilate into American society fairly quickly. Decades later, I was born, with a nearly lifelong confusion of whether to fully embrace my American upbringing, or to hold on to the Indian values that I knew we were losing as time went on. When I came to college, I decided to recognize both, and became actively involved in the South Asian Student Association. Through this, I was also able to serve on the Asian Student Council. The cultural organizations I joined had a great impact on me, helping shape both my college experience and my own personal development. Now, as the Undersecretary of Multicultural Affairs, I will work to foster the many cultural organizations we have on campus even more, so that other members of the William & Mary community may have just as incredible of an experience as the one I had.

Contact: ababbar@email.wm.edu

Diana Villarreal, Undersecretary of Diversity Outreach

Hi my name is Diana Villarreal and I am a senior at the college majoring in Psychology and Sociology. I am involved in various campus activities including The William and Mary Pep Band, Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, Tribe Ambassadors, Peer Advisors, International Relations club as well as The Filipino American Student Association. Being a member of FASA, participating in our annual culture night, and attending many other cultural organizations’ events has allowed me to appreciate diversity and how it is essential to our college community. As the Undersecretary of Diversity Outreach, it is my job to bring in more diversity to the Student Assembly and to get more students involved in diversity initiatives at the college. Diversity has always been important to me and I am very excited to work with the Student Assembly to promote diversity at William and Mary!

Contact: dmvillarreal@email.wm.edu

Alexa McDorman, Undersecretary of Socioeconomic Affairs

My name is Alexa McDorman and I’m a senior from Waynesboro, Virginia. This is my second year as the Undersecretary of Socioeconomic Affairs. I am a Psychology major, and I plan to do social work for a few years before attending law school to become a public defense lawyer. In addition to Student Assembly, I’m a member of Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity and the William and Mary Scholar Undergraduate Research Experience (WSURE) Program. In my position, I am the voice of socio-economic issues and diversity in the Student Assembly. My purpose is to increase campus awareness of socioeconomic diversity and what it means, as well as to provide support to students in economic need.

Contact: samcdorman@email.wm.edu

Davey McKissick, Undersecretary of LGBTIQ Affairs

My name is Davey McKissick, and I am a senior at the College studying Government. I am a member of Kappa Delta Rho fraternity and the manager for the Varsity Women’s Volleyball Team. I am excited to be a part of the Diversity team and hope to increase LGBT involvement in the many unique groups that comprise the William & Mary Community. The College already has an accepting environment which encourages all students to express themselves as they feel comfortable. As a part of SA, I would like to increase awareness of queer issues and increase the visibility of supportive students on campus.

Contact: rdmckissick@email.wm.edu