Show your pride in your alma mater with an MU license plate

<< back to @manchester news

Junior accounting major with heavy ties is heavily involved

Junior accounting major DaiJah Asumang has been going to class at Manchester since before she could remember.

A native of Indianapolis, Ind., DaiJah followed in the footsteps of her parents, Joseph ’92 and LaShondra Asumang ’96, both Manchester graduates. DaiJah’s mother was still a student here when she gave birth to her daughter, and she would sometimes take DaiJah with her to class when she couldn’t find a babysitter. Because of their strong connections, her professors didn’t mind. DaiJah recalls her mother bringing her to campus for reunions at a young age, and being able to interact with professors who used to hold her during her mother’s classes. “I have a pretty strong connection to this place,” DaiJah says.

DaiJah hopes to become a traveling auditor or a forensic accountant, so naturally Manchester’s accounting program stood out. “When it came time to pick a school,” she says, “this is one of the better accounting programs in this region and I definitely wanted to stay in Indiana.”

DaiJah is at MU on a full tuition scholarship through the Center for Leadership Development, an Indianapolis-based organization which works to advance minority youth in central Indiana. She is Manchester’s sixth student to attend under the Center’s full scholarship.

DaiJah is extremely involved in activities beyond the classroom. She is the vice president of the Black Student Union, a club that “changed my life completely.” She is the secretary of We Are Board, an organization that devotes itself to fellowship cultivated through board games. She is a member of the Student Budget Board, and was a member of the event planning board in the Accounting and Business Club.

She is greatly involved in the Office of Multicultural Affairs too. She served as a summer Multicultural Affairs Programmer, focusing on career fairs, conferences, international and multicultural student orientation and generating awareness for the department. “I tried to get everybody involved.”

Her impact on campus has not gone unnoticed, either. “She’s a joy to have on campus,” says Michael Dixon, director of intercultural services, “and truly an asset to the community.”

Getting involved is a recurring theme with DaiJah. “Your best bet is to get involved,” she says. “It may seem basic, but it really is what keeps you tied to this place: the connections you make and the people you get to know.”

By Ben Ogden ’12