Meredith MacKenzie

Elon University, Love School of Business

“Fast-talking problem solver who spends way too much time stalking restaurants’ Instagram accounts.”

Fun fact about yourself: It is on my bucket list to be on Wheel of Fortune.

Hometown: Wynnewood, PA

High School: Merion Mercy Academy

Major: Finance and Business Analytics

Minor: N/A

Favorite Business Course: Financial Modeling with Excel

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

Extracurricular Activities and Involvement:

• Lead Math Tutor, Disabilities Resources Contact, Tutor Supervisor
• Beta Gamma Sigma Honors Society – Vice President
• Business Fellows Elon 101 – Teaching Assistant
• Catholic Campus Ministry – Lector
• Alpha Xi Delta Sorority – Member
• Village Project – Spring and Summer Tutor
• Fellows Weekend – Panel Speaker

Honors and Awards:

• President’s List (7 consecutive semesters)
• Best Presentation Award – Elon Innovation Challenge
• Top 5 Pitches Award – Campus Greensboro Next in FinTech Community Challenge
• Alpha Xi Delta Slaymaker-Kinsey Award – Highest GPA in Chapter
• LSB Honor Roll for Social Responsibility
• Beta Gamma Sigma Honors Society
• Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society
• Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society
• Sigma Iota Epsilon Honors Society
• Alpha Xi Delta Slaymaker-Kinsey Award – Highest GPA in Chapter
• Presidential Scholarship and annual LSB Scholarships recipient
• Business Fellow

Where have you interned during your college career?

Wells Fargo Advisors (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) – Wealth Advisor Summer Intern

Greensboro Chamber of Commerce (Greensboro, North Carolina) – Spring Project Intern

Abbot Downing (Remote: Midwest Division) – Asset Management and Relationship Management Summer Intern

Where will you be working after graduation? Wells Fargo Securities (Charlotte, North Carolina) – Investment Banking Analyst

Who is your favorite academic professor? Dr. Kate Upton is not an easy professor, but certainly is a great one; she is always happy to make herself available for everyone. She is such an intelligent, strong, independent woman and mother, which I have always admired. I’m so grateful to Dr. Upton for going out of her way to help me prep for interviews in both Wealth Management and Investment Banking by doing mock ones with me. What I love most about Dr. Upton is that she has industry experience and you truly learn applicable, relevant concepts in her class that stick with you.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? The biggest lesson I gained is the importance of cross-functional teams. Business is a constant game of discovering problems and developing solutions, assessing risk and mitigating it. A diverse team is necessary to offer unique perspectives and solutions and understand how a decision will impact the entirety of the business.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Understand the power of people! Growing your network by developing meaningful relationships with a variety of people is the key to success in business. Never be afraid to reach out to a fellow classmate, professor, co-worker, speaker, alumni, or whoever. 99 times out of 100, they will be so excited and want to help you succeed in any way they can, whether that’s by teaching you a new skill or advocating on your behalf. Doing this will also strengthen your emotional intelligence which matters just as much or even more than your IQ.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? I am most proud of being selected as the Teaching Assistant of Elon 101 for the Business Fellows Class of 2021. I have found that mentorship has been the central theme of my extracurricular activities and one of my true passions in life. Tutoring for the past four years has given me the opportunity to help many students in the short term. However, the opportunity to be the TA allowed me to develop close, long-term mentoring relationships with the 30 Business Fellows the year below me. I was able to support them academically, professionally, and personally — not only during my role as TA but through all the following years which was extremely rewarding.

Which classmate do you most admire? Lilly Rothschild and I have only ever had one or two classes together, but she has always stood out in my mind as a peer that I admire. Her presence is known throughout the LSB and her impact on the Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship is especially impressive. She is hard-working with a creative drive and dedicated to the many things on her plate, but always seems to walk into a room with a smile on her face. What I find most admirable about Lilly though is that she is fearless in putting herself in uncomfortable situations and handles them with confidence and grace.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? I have to thank my parents for supportively pushing me just enough to be my best but never too hard. They have always encouraged me to speak up and ask questions, which have made me a much more confident person and stronger leader. Specifically at Elon though, I would like to thank Tina Das, the head of the Business Fellows program. While seemingly intimidating at first because of her loud voice, Das is a fun-loving spirit that brings a needed energetic presence to the stressful world of academics and career searching. She truly wants the best for all of her students and is always a text, call, or visit to her office away whether it’s for academic, professional, or personal reasons. Das helped me see my potential more than I knew and always shot new opportunities at me that have shaped my Elon career.

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

• To be able to travel abroad for work a bit before having a family
• To be a Managing Director at a firm I enjoy working at each day

What are your hobbies? Cooking, tennis, trying new restaurants, sudoku, and walks.

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

“Meredith is clearly brilliant and the top of her class in every class. She has intellectual curiosity and a tremendous work ethic, but what really strikes me about Meredith is her desire to mentor and help others. She is always willing to help other students: tutoring, as an Elon 1010 TA, her classmates in a class, faculty that are new or needing advice from students.”

Kate Upton
Associate Professor of Finance

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