She was also a project assistant with the university’s RISE program, which still runs to this day. The program creates an employment pipeline for UW-Madison students of color seeking internships. Assefa went on to serve in various directorial and advisory roles for UW-Madison, all in an effort to promote DEI on campus.
Most notably, Assefa was previously the director of the African American Student Academic Services department and an adviser to the First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Scholarship program out of the Multicultural Arts Initiatives office, where she eventually became the director.