2017 Best & Brightest: Kelly Mayid, Lehigh University

Kelly Mayid

Lehigh University

“A girl who wishes she could sing like Beyoncé but studies business like Warren Buffett.”

Fun fact about yourself: I played an extra in a Queen Latifa movie (Just Wright)!

Hometown: Fort Lee, NJ

High School: Fort Lee High School

Major: Finance and Management double major

Favorite Business Courses: Advanced Topics – Financial Management; Sales Management; Managing in the International Organization

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

  • 2015-16 President of Women in Business
  • 2015-16 VP Finance of Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority
  • Student Manager of the Lehigh Liners Phonathon
  • Program Marketing Intern at the Baker Institute of Entrepreneurship
  • Class of 1904 Award Winner
  • Dean’s List Fall 2015 to Present
  • 2016 Harold Geneen Scholarship Recipient
  • 2015 Lee Iacocca International Intern – Portugal

Where have you interned during your college career?

2015 Lee Iacocca International Summer Intern –  VC Group in Quarteira, Portugal

  • Worked to increase company sales by conducting market research on Portuguese competitors, improving client acquisition and the company’s overall corporate efficiency.
  • Assisted the Finance and Marketing departments, organizing invoices, crafting reports, improving the Informat software, and assisting in the shift of marketing materials from Portuguese to English.

Business Advisory Intern –  Ernst & Young (EY) in New York, NY

  • Served client  for  a  Foreign  Banking  Organization,  working  on  CCAR  regulations, performance improvement, risk compliance, and project management.
  • Led all  quality  assurance  efforts  with  extensive  use  of  Microsoft  Visio,  Excel,  and PowerPoint.
  • Performed industry research on Data Robotics and presented to a team of EY Partners on Data Robotics recommendations.

Describe your dream Job: A job that gives me balance, autonomy, and of course some fun co-workers. I want to be in charge of my schedule, but still have the desire to come into work because it makes me happy! Also, I love celebrities so maybe a job that lets me meet famous people…

Who is your favorite professor? I had Professor Doug Mahony for Managing in the International Organization, and then was able to travel with him on the Lehigh winter study abroad trip to Dubai and Singapore. It was such an incredible experience, as everything he taught us during the semester was showcased while visiting international companies in these locations. The trip he helped lead allowed us to meet C-Suite executives as well as experience the international culture around us.  Professor Mahony was also a blast to travel with and knew all the best places to see–an amazing professor and tour guide!

Where would you like to work after graduation? As of right now, I am lucky enough to already know where I’ll be working after graduation. After my summer internship, I was offered a full-time position with Ernst & Young as a Business Advisory staff member. I’m ecstatic to see what’s to come!

What are your long-term professional goals? After doing some career exploration, I’ve come to realize that my long-term professional goal is not a specific role or title. Instead, I aim to do work that will leave a lasting impression after I’m finished. I want to create something that will leave some sort of legacy when I’m gone and hopefully help people along the way.

“I knew I wanted to major in business when…I realized I was the best person in my family at saving money.”

“If I didn’t major in business, I would be…a communications major!”

“Before I entered business school, I wish I had known…to take advantage of as many company recruiting events as soon as possible! It wasn’t until the end of my sophomore year that I starting attending networking events. Turns out, a good number of people started going as freshmen and even landed freshman internships from it.”

What was the happiest moment of your life? To be honest, I don’t know what the happiest moment of my life is yet. I’ve been lucky to have so many happy moments that I can’t narrow one down!

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? My junior year was the most strenuous for me. I took on too many roles at once, but somehow worked harder than I ever have and finished the year with my highest GPA! At the time, I was the VP Finance of my sorority, a Manager at one of my on-campus jobs, an assistant at my 2nd campus job, and President of an organization called Women in Business (WIB). Serving as President of WIB was by far the most challenging and rewarding. The organization decided to plan a 150-person conference with 7 speakers and 2 breakout sessions. However, the team had to start from scratch, being that the previous executive board had all graduated. We had to raise the funds to organize this free event with corporate sponsors as well as reach out to the speakers ourselves. The planning process essentially took the whole academic year and my stress levels rose. However, on the conference day, I was the proudest of myself that I had ever been. We received numerous thank you’s and emails about how well-executed the conference was.

What animal would you choose to represent your professional brand? I would choose a giraffe because they stand tall with confidence and conduct everything they do with poise.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? Like most people, I would thank my family more than anyone else. My family is the reason why I’m able to do what I do. They raised me to have goals and taught me how hard I need to work in order to achieve them. They are amazing influences and I am so grateful for that every day.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? It would make me so happy to hear that I left them with a well-balanced impression. Balance is the most important aspect I’ve tried to maintain throughout my college career— being able to take on as many leadership roles as I want without limiting my grades or my social life.

Favorite book: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Favorite movie: 500 Days of Summer

Favorite musical performer: Chance the Rapper

Favorite vacation spot: Singapore

What are your hobbies? I love karaoke so much, but I have a terrible singing voice. Other than that, I also play tennis and snowboard!

What made Kelly such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2017?

“Kelly Mayid was an outstanding student in my Sales Management class. She was very much engaged in the class as evidenced by her pro-active participation – engaging in-class with classmates in class discussions, asking good, challenging questions and enthusiastically presenting during team project presentations.

It was evident that Kelly took the Sales Management class with the specific objective of obtaining the skills needed to be effective in sizing-up and solving customer problems. In addition to my class, Kelly was the President of the Women in Business Club at Lehigh and led the effort in orchestrating a phenomenal conference event, including guest speakers and career panelists.

Kelly Mayid is a true example of a student leader whom we predict will go on to do great things in business and be a terrific mentor and role model to other young women seeking career progression in business.”

Steve Savino
Professor of Practice, Marketing
Lehigh University

DON’T MISS: THE FULL HONOR ROLL: THE BEST & BRIGHTEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS MAJORS OF 2017

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.