ANNA MANOCHA

How has the program helped shape your career and how has it been impactful for you?

ANNA MANOCHA: The program impacts who you meet and also helps you understand how the private sector and the public sector overlap and really allows you to find your passions. I think a lot of students at UNC get really into this rhythm of going for the same types of roles, whether that’s in consulting or investment banking or real estate. And the program really encourages you to push those boundaries and explore new roles. For me personally, I would have never had a public sector internship otherwise, and I would have never worked for a food bank during COVID, which was a really cool startup for me. And I would have probably just tried to get into consulting for both my internships.

How has your understanding of leadership evolved since you’ve been in the program?

ANNA MANOCHA: I used to think that a leader was the person that was the loudest in the room or commanded the most attention or had a skill that other people didn’t have. And that skill had to be, like, intelligence or something very out of the ordinary. But sometimes the best leader lets someone else lead in the group so that they can get a sense of cohesion throughout the org.

What’s a lesson that you took away from the program that you’ve instilled in your career today?

ANNA MANOCHA: I remember getting that phone call that we would no longer be doing the Kenan Foundation Asia summer internship in Thailand. And so basically I had from the spring to the summer to figure out what I was going to do. [Scholars Assistant Director Phil Hardy] told me that I could just make up my own internship. You can go out anywhere in the world and find any public sector organization and invent your own role and pitch it to them and go for that. Or you could just go for things that are posted that seem super out of your league. And the worst thing that they can say is no. I’ve carried that with me throughout my career. And I feel like it’s gotten me to some crazy places. I think the more you ask for, the more you’ll be surprised that people will say yes, just because you’re offering to fill a need that they have.

How has the Luther Hodges Scholars program shaped how you approach challenges, opportunities or decision-making in your professional career?

ANNA MANOCHA: I think the Luther Hodges Scholars program has added a lens of ethics to how I approach challenges in my professional career. I think thinking about the public sector always as you operate in the private sector is a very unique perspective that not a lot of other people in corporate America have or have the opportunity to develop. And so I think that having been part of the Luther Hodges Scholars program has exposed me to people who ended up in a very wide variety of fields with a very wide variety of perspectives. I think we’ve always had such a diverse group of people in the room that I’ve been able to think with a broader lens. So I think when I make decisions, I think about not only just how they impact the private sector and our revenue, but also how they impact the public sector. For example, in my role, when we make decisions on ads, my team specifically works on privacy and brand safety. So we think not just about how ads impact the final revenue of our client, but also, you know, are they safe for the public? Are they aimed at the right demographic? Are they sensitive toward children? So my team does a lot of that thought process and then thinking about just how we approach ads generally.

If you could share a message with current or future scholars, what would you say?

ANNA MANOCHA: To aim higher, to do things that scare you. For Luther Hodges Scholars, I think if you don’t think it’s a possibility that you’ll hear the word “no” in your day to day, then you’re not doing enough. If you think everything you do in a day, people will say yes and every single thing will go smoothly, you’re not pushing yourself enough. And I think you need to train that muscle of asking for more and doing more and having a lower fear of rejection. I think having a lower fear of rejection, which is something I was taught throughout the program, is something that has gotten me further than anything else in life.

Finish this statement: “Because of this program, I …”

ANNA MANOCHA: Because of this program, I have created a group of lifelong friends and a community of support.

Interviewed by Phil Hardy. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.