Lilly Rothschild

Elon University, Love School of Business

“Outgoing and loves to connect with people. Eager traveler, runner, innovator, just all over the place.”

Fun fact about yourself: I have run a trail marathon!

Hometown: Solon, Ohio

High School: Hathaway Brown School

Major: Finance

Minor: Leadership Studies

Favorite Business Course: Blockchain Finance (with Dr. Thibaut Morillon) and International Trade and Finance (with Dr. Brandon Sheridan)

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

• Director of University Innovation Fellows at Elon
• Lead Scholar intern at the Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellow
• Member of Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity
• Member of Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority
• Student Director of Elon’s 2020 Women in Entrepreneurship Conference
• Venture Capital Investment Competition Participant (2021 & 2022)
• Stout Woman in Business Scholarship Award recipient (2020)
• Institute for International Education- Study in Asia Scholarship (2020)

Where have you interned during your college career?

Spring 2022 / Present: ILex Consulting Group, New York, NY / Nashville, TN,

Summer 2021: Goldman Sachs, Salt Lake City, UT, Global Markets Credit Risk Intern

Summer 2020: KeyBank, Cleveland, OH, Market Risk Intern

Summer 2019: Datonics & Intent IQ, Tel Aviv, Israel, Data Analytics Intern

Where will you be working after graduation? Ernst and Young, Analyst in the Financial Services Organization Business Consulting Program in New York City

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Harness as much genuine curiosity as you can for your classes and subject matter that intrigues you. Curiosity can unpack so many interesting questions that those around you may not have considered. I would urge you to approach difficult problems from a new perspective and see what path that approach may lead you down. Lean into your studies and business interests. Lean into the discomfort that comes with grappling with an advanced understanding in both technical and theoretical aspects of the business school curriculum; they are intertwined in important ways that may not be apparent until you are in an internship or other professional role.

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? I didn’t anticipate that, as a business major, the most impactful learning would take place when I was able to connect the theories, concepts, and lessons from inside the classroom to my professional experiences. I am constantly surprised by how applicable and pragmatic each of my classes are when paired with initiative in a ‘real world’ setting.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? I would have taken more courses in economics. I enjoyed the economics courses I took earlier in my college career and I wish I had taken the time to explore this area further. Economics connects many of my financial interests to pressing issues taking place in the world today. I would have also taken more analytics courses, as those skills are in higher-and-higher demand in the business world.

What business executive do you admire most? Dickon Pinner is the head of McKinsey & Company’s sustainability practice. Pinner courageously stated at the COP26 conference that the past is no longer a good predictor of the future. I admire his ability to analyze an issue as daunting as the climate crisis with such a focus on innovation, technology, and McKinsey’s pursuits in the ‘energy transition’.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? During my sophomore year, I pursued the opportunity to attend the 2020 University Innovation Fellows Alps Conference at the University of Applied Science and Technology of Salzburg. Through the Stanford Design School, my cohort and I underwent an intensive six week design thinking training program. Excited about the skills I gained in the fall, I identified that Elon’s strength of engaged learning can be coupled with design thinking principles. In partnership with my mentor, Alyssa Martina, we crafted a workshop to lead at the conference in Salzburg, Austria.

I am proud to say that, with Professor Martina, our three day workshop guided students from all over the world on how to claim a stake in their curriculum at their home universities. Through the design thinking process, we challenged University Innovation Fellows to remodel curricular principles and reimagine the power of engaged learning inside and outside of the classroom.  Our workshop fostered meaningful conversations around implementing innovative practices.

While at the Alps Conference, Professor Martina and I also gave a presentation about venture creation for the social good. We discussed the ways to use design thinking to advance community-driven social change. Not only did I come away from this conference a more confident public speaker, but with more questions (and curiosity) than answers. The relationships I gained at the Alps Conference are invaluable. The students who took my workshop inspired me to reconsider the differences between the value engaged learning unlocks in America vs. internationally.

Which classmate do you most admire? Liam O’Connor has personally made Elon a better place today than it was three-and-a-half years ago when he first arrived. When he sees a problem that the student body is facing, not only does he dive in to do everything in his power to improve the student experience, but he listens with compassion and care. This speaks to Liam’s attitude towards studying economics and being a Business Fellow. As the senior class president, when he commits himself to a cause, he commits 110%. This is consistent with his attitude toward friendship as well. Liam is driven by challenge. Whether that challenge lies in venture capital, advancing his understanding of Web 3.0, researching how to build social capital in public library systems, and even taking trumpet lessons, Liam is endlessly inquisitive and curious. He exemplifies to his peers and community what it means to be energized  by not only his own passions, but the needs he (and others) identify in the greater Elon community.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? It is hard to put into words the gratitude I feel for the guidance Alyssa Martina has provided me over these past four years. While Alyssa is formally the Director of the Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at the Love School of Business, she has also served as my role model, confidant, sounding board, problem solver, and an extraordinary mentor. Alyssa has empowered me to pursue goals that I might have otherwise thought were out of reach. She showed me the path to achieving so much of my success.

Alyssa has always challenged me to grow in opportunities far beyond just academics. This includes working long hours architecting the design thinking workshop we gave together in Austria or opening her network up to me in order to bring together the perfect group of speakers for the 2020 Women in Entrepreneurship Conference. Alyssa has made it her mission to empower students, even those of us with crazy out of the box ideas. I hope other college students can be as fortunate as I to have an Alyssa Martina by their side.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

1. Work for a company that provides international experience (specifically in Japan)
2. Work in a professional role that allows me to fuse my interests of technology, cybersecurity, finance, and international relations

What are your hobbies? I am an avid runner (specifically enjoy going on long trail runs with a close friend), talking on the phone, making creative smoothies, and traveling to foreign countries. I love reading poetry, listening to new music albums, and exploring new cities, and laughing at old photos / videos of my family and friends.

What made Lilly such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2022?

“Besides being extremely intelligent, hard-working, beautiful and kind, Lilly Rothschild has irrepressible passion, unsatiable curiosity, relentless drive, boundless energy, and infinite hopefulness. Lilly is both a responsive and driven leader and a valuable, collaborative team member. She never stops looking for opportunities to grow, learn, and challenge herself and others. Lilly is fearless in accepting challenges of any nature. Her dogged determination to explore new paths of growth and interests is remarkable.

An integral part of the Doherty Center, Lilly is extremely effective in working with others and respecting their opinions, while delivering results in a collaborative fashion, and paving a better course for our campus and students. Her unbridled enthusiasm and optimism are contagious. I often teach students the importance of pushing themselves out of their comfort zone as a way to grow and expand their perspectives and opportunities and to stretch themselves to realize their full potential. In every way, Lilly brilliantly personifies this.

Lilly is an effective, transformative leader and continually demonstrates how she can work with people at all levels (faculty, students, administration and staff) and allow diverse voices to be heard. She has catalyzed innovation on our campus and has led the charge to get others involved. She is an integral and invaluable part of the Doherty Center and the Love School of Business where she has made significant contributions and has left her mark.”

Alyssa Martina
Director of the Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation & Entrepreneurship

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