We are proud to see Rita recognised in this way. She is a great ambassador for King’s and a wonderful example of the power of volunteering.
Professor Stephen Bach, Executive Dean, King's Business School.
31 January 2022
King's alumna receives US Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award
Rita Kakati-Shah recognised for international mentoring and volunteering efforts
King’s alumna and King’s Business School Advisory Council Member Rita Kakati-Shah has received the Lifetime Achievement award, the highest level of the President of the United States Volunteer Service Award.
The award recognises her international mentoring and volunteering efforts to support young people, women and minorities of all ages. As well as acting as a mentor through the King’s Business School Diversity Mentoring programme, Rita has volunteered to help empower women in Assam and Zambia and help students to draft legal bills around gender equality at the United Nations Parliamentary Assembly. Locally, she volunteers with senior citizens and gives motivational talks to schoolchildren.
Giving back to the community and voluntary service has been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember. Community to me isn’t just about serving my local neighbourhood, city, or even country, but also finding ways to empower and serve the many diverse backgrounds and cultures in the world we live in. I feel so humbled and truly honoured to receive the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award from US President Joe Biden and AmeriCorps, in recognition of a lifelong commitment to building a stronger nation through voluntary service.
Rita Kakati-Shah (Mathematics & Management, 2001)
Volunteering and Service at King's
Volunteer as a King’s Business School alumni mentor
King’s Business School’s Diversity Mentoring programme is a six-month long mentoring relationship designed to connect undergraduate and postgraduate students at King’s Business School with experienced alumni working in a related business field. The programme focuses on supporting students from groups which are under-represented in senior level roles.
“In service to society”
The vision of King’s College London is to make the world a better place, going above and beyond what might conventionally be expected of a university. To this end a commitment to Service is the third and equal part of the university’s academic mission, alongside Education and Research. Service at King’s embodies the university’s historic ethos of operating in ‘service to society’, manifested in a commitment to positive social impact, at home in London, across the UK and around the world.