2021 Best & Brightest Business Major: Alexandra Pirsos, Elon University (Love)

Alexandra Pirsos

Elon University, Love School of Business

“Catch me eating trail mix during the Bachelor, scrolling through LinkedIn, and daydreaming about Greece.”

Fun fact about yourself: I’m in the process of editing a novel I wrote and hope to get it published one day!

Hometown: Upper Saddle River, NJ

High School: Northern Highlands Regional High School

Major: Marketing Analytics

Minor: Communications

Favorite Business Course: Data Mining with Dr. Haya Ajjan

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College: (Include school awards and honors)

  • Alpha Kappa Psi – President
  • ELONTHON – Assistant Director of Dancer Relations
  • Center for Organizational Analytics – Accounts Based Marketing Analyst
  • New Student Transition Program – Orientation Leader
  • Panhellenic – Recruitment Counselor
  • Delta Delta Delta – Member
  • Business Fellow
  • Phi Eta Sigma
  • Beta Gamma Sigma
  • LSB Honor Roll for Social Responsibility

Where have you interned during your college career? (List Companies, Locations and Roles)

  • BrandLink Communications (New York, NY) – Marketing and Public Relations Intern
  • Oppenheimer & Co. Inc (New York, NY) – Corporate Marketing Intern
  • Oppenheimer & Co. Inc (New York, NY) – Marketing Associate

Where will you be working after graduation? I am a candidate to receive my Masters of Science in Analytics at the Institute for Advanced Analytics (North Carolina State University)

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? I learned that problems are not as always as black-and-white as they may appear. Solving businesses cases requires you to think outside of the box, look back on your past experiences, and ask the questions that are not already being considered. Business is all about analyzing the opportunity cost of your decision and evaluating the results. There may not necessarily be a “right” answer.

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? I was surprised to see how cross functional business majors are. Upon starting my degree, I assumed marketing, was completely segregated from finance, accounting, economics, and analytics. However, I think the most valuable aspect of majoring in business is that you can utilize knowledge from multiple different perspectives to help solve a problem.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? If I could change anything about my business school experience, I would have gotten involved with analytical opportunities earlier. I was always afraid to take a course or join an organization that heavily relied on coding or statistics. Once I challenged myself analytically, I knew that was the sector of business that I belonged in. 

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? As the president of Alpha Kappa Psi, I had the opportunity to host a 5K for our philanthropy, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. After months of planning, the event was cancelled when we were sent home due to COVID-19. Our executive board quickly repurposed the event into a digital steps competition, where we raised $7,300 for the AFSP and registered 520 participants. I am most proud of this accomplishment because it shows that by working together, you can creatively solve any problem and spread kindness even through times of despair.

Which classmate do you most admire? I admire my classmate Connor Fioretti. He has been my right-hand man through much of my Elon experience. While I could speak to his professional experiences, I think what makes Connor truly unique is his positivity. Completing college during the pandemic has come with a host of challenges, yet Connor always goes out of his way to lift others up. I hope to take a piece of his giving spirit everywhere I go.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? I would like to thank my Dad for my success. He has been a huge support throughout my entire professional journey. Business has run in my family ever since my Papou emigrated from Greece to the US and opened up his own restaurant. I like to think that my Dad recognized my business savvy spirit since I was young, and I’m proud to build upon the opportunities he has provided for me.

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

  • Give a TedTalk in hopes of inspiring more young women to find STEM related careers.
  • Be a part of an international merger and help integrate two cultures within a business. This goal is inspired by my study abroad experiences in the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and Denmark.

What are your hobbies? Yoga, journaling, reading dystopian fiction, watching romantic comedies, renaming my Spotify playlists, and cooking appetizers that involve cheese

What made Alexandra such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2021?  

“Alex is the kind of student we seek in higher education. She is creative, rigorous, supportive, and a delight to work with. She is a high achiever always impressing her faculty with her insightful findings and inquires. She welcomes challenges and seeks to improve the world around her. For the Center for Organizational Analytics, Alex is currently engaged in an analytics project with a local marketing firm to build a predictive model to identify the number of web impressions needed to close a sale in Account Based Marketing. The company has been impressed with Alex’s team and their work. Alex attitude is persistently positive. In fact, other students in class seek to work with Alex for her positive attitude and support before any other team member. Alex is also passionate about her career goals.  She values the opportunity to use her skills in analytics and research to analyze opportunities and develop solutions.

Dr. Haya Ajjan
Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Management Information Systems 
Faculty Administrative Fellow and Assistant to the President
Sheldon and Christine Gordon Endowed Professor in Entrepreneurship
Director, Elon Center for Organizational Analytics

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