Rachel Labi
Purdue University, Daniels School of Business
“Social impact businesswoman, Advocate for economic and educational empowerment, Writer.”
Fun fact about yourself: I am writing a children’s book about career options for kids.
Hometown: West Lafayette, IN
High School: West Lafayette Junior/Senior High School
Major: Finance
Minor: Data Analytics (Concentration)
Favorite Business Course: Investment Management, taught by Shuaiyu Chen. After engaging in fellowships with D.E. Shaw and Bridgewater Associates, I became interested in investment management, specifically discretionary investing. I enrolled in this class because I thought it would be useful, and it exceeded my expectations. The class allowed me to apply both technical and fundamental analysis to analyze the optimal risky/risk-free portfolio for an investment opportunity. I gained practical skills that will help me as I pursue my career in the field.
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:
Extracurriculars:
- Society of Minority Managers Vice President of Professional Affairs
- Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity Program Mentor
- Community Standards Board Member
- Grade Appeal Committee Member
Community Work and Leadership:
- Building Financial Freedom Co-Founder
- Lafayette Urban Ministry Board Representative
- Indiana Youth Advisory Board Member
- Indiana Housing Community Development Authority and Balance of State Continuum of Care Youth Advisory Board Member
- World Summit Awards Youth Ambassador
- BridgingTheGap Ventures U.S. Youth Delegate
- AnnieCannons Professional Development Volunteer
- Greater Lafayette Chinese Alliance Church Youth Leader
- Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault & Human Trafficking Labor Trafficking Subcommittee Member
Awards:
- Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity Program
- 1st place in 2021 Salesforce|Purdue Tableau VizGame Case Competition
- Charles O. McGaughey Leadership Award
- Class of 1937 Scholarship 2x
- Amelia Earhart Scholarship
- Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Epsilon Gamma Chapter Scholarship
- Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Zeta Theta Chapter Scholarship
- Daniels School of Business Outstanding Sophomore
- Emerging Leader Scholar
- Black Caucus of Faculty and Staff Highest GPA Award
- Dean’s List and Semester Honors
- Larsen Leaders Academy
Where have you interned during your college career?
Summer 2021 – Rain Collective, Media Intern (Remote)
Summer 2022 – Banjo Corporation, Finance and Operations Intern (Crawfordsville, IN)
Summer 2023 – Ohana Student Housing Co., Product Manager Intern (Remote)
Summer 2024 – Google, Finance Intern (Sunnyvale, CA)
Where will you be working after graduation? English-Teaching Assistantship with Fulbright or North American Language and Culture Assistants Program
Who is your favorite business professor? No other professor has contributed to my professional development as much as Darren Henry. Professor Henry is the director of the Dr. Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity Program (BOP), a nationally-recognized program for business students. Through his courses, I have learned to succeed in the professional world and in life. Professor Henry has also provided multiple letters of recommendation for me, and he has given guidance on my course scheduling. He has also provided me with unique opportunities, including the chance to lead Purdue’s team at the 2022 National Black MBA Association Case Competition. Working with fellow Purdue students Lauren Bromley, Ava Dahl, and Imani Crutcher, we won second place and a $10,000 prize. With his guidance and support, I was afforded the opportunity to establish myself, BOP, and Purdue as among the best in the nation. Professor Henry has, and will always be, my favorite professor.
What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? Business can intersect with social impact. I previously viewed my social impact endeavors, including my financial literacy and anti-trafficking advocacy, as separate from my business activities. It was only until a social entrepreneurship course sophomore year that I realized I could engage in impact-oriented business work. I subsequently joined a social impact accelerator with Gener8tor, and I began mentoring founders in the personal finance technology space. Currently, I am interested in impact investing and investment management, and I am searching for related opportunities.
What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? You can create your own definition of success. I do what I love, even if it is not aligned with the typical definition of success for a business student. I don’t work in banking or consulting, and most of my extracurriculars are unrelated to business. But I engage in my interests like policy, advocacy, writing, and teaching – and I have the opportunity to make the world a better place. I plan to work in investment management, but first I’m doing an English-teaching program in a Spanish-speaking nation. Success doesn’t look the same for everyone. When most people think of a successful business student, they may think of someone who works in high finance. But if I only acted based on others’ views of what I should be, I would not be as successful as I am today. Do what you want to do. Listen to wise counsel, but don’t do things only because others have done them, or because others are pushing certain expectations onto you. Success is up to you to define.
Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? I would have engaged in academic research. I enjoy researching new topics, writing, and reading, so I should have tried research. It also would have allowed me to meet new people, enhance my analytical skills, and more deeply consider graduate business programs beyond MBAs.
What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What is one insight you gained from using AI? In my Management Information Systems class, our professor encouraged us to become prompt engineers and be bold as we experimented with ChatGPT and Claude. By using it as a tool for web development and coding, I learned that AI optimizes efficiency and supports the debugging process.
Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? I’m proud of having the opportunity to speak at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Youth Consultation on the International Day of Education. Last year, Julianne Wang, Youth Affinity Group Co-Chair for the United Nations Association of the United States of America, invited me to speak at the event. She said my anti-trafficking experiences would contribute to the consultation, which was focused on digital education. I am proud of this because this was one of the few times I have been acknowledged for my anti-trafficking efforts, since most people care more about my financial literacy work. I was also afforded the opportunity to speak on such a large platform, and the consultation informed written inputs of the U.S. United Nations Association to the OHCHR Human Rights Council Session.
Which classmate do you most admire? Charlotte Yeung is one of my best friends, and one of the most accomplished students at Purdue. In the eight years I’ve known her, she continues to impress me even more every day. Charlotte is a political science senior at Purdue, and while I could spend all day diving into her accolades, I will focus on a few.
Charlotte’s accomplishments in writing and art are unmatched. Even in high school, she published a book that was an Amazon top 10 bestseller and a #1 New Release in two categories. Today, she boasts 70+ publications, including books, poems, and other forms of literary expression. In terms of art, Charlotte’s creations have been displayed in galleries and magazines, and she has a scarf design currently being produced through an EKOALPAKA design competition. Additionally, Charlotte supports the preservation of writing as a member of the board of directors for the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.
While Charlotte’s accomplishments in art and writing are abundant, she also has accomplishments in other fields. She was both a Boren Scholar and a Frederick Douglass fellow, allowing her to travel to Japan, South Africa, and Ireland (among other places). She was the youngest person chosen for the Inaugural New Voices on Nuclear Weapons Fellowship with the Federation of American Scientists. Moreover, she was both a founder and instructor for a poetry course for Afghan women at an underground school, and she is a UN Youth Champion for Disarmament.
What most impresses me about Charlotte is not the titles, but her dedication to bettering the world. Whether she is promoting appreciations for arts and music, researching weapons, or writing, she is bringing light to global issues. She encourages me to keep pursuing my social impact interests and continue my passion for writing. The more I talk about Charlotte, the more inspired I am. I am glad to say she’s a peer, and I am honored to call her a long-time friend.
Who would you most want to thank for your success? Darren Henry. Without Darren Henry, I would be lost as a business student. I would not have the mentorship, resources, and opportunities that he has provided me. He’s helped me in countless ways, and there are not enough words to express the impact he has had on my professional development.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
Invest in a venture capital firm focused on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
Consult on a documentary or TV show related to business or social impact
What made Rachel such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?
“Rachel Labi is the personification of the word “accomplished.” I’ve worked with hundreds of undergraduate students at Purdue University, but no one achieved more in a four-year period than Rachel. Before participating in countless corporate programs, winning prestigious awards, and lecturing at national conferences, Rachel launched her own non-profit focused on fostering financial literacy in youth and young adults worldwide. What makes Rachel an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025 is even with all her accomplishments, Rachel has always had a passion for motivating others to be the best versions of themselves. Since high school, she has selflessly shared her knowledge and wisdom with her peers.
Despite her impressive feats, Rachel would host workshops for students titled “How to Get Straight A’s in Your Classes,” “How to Land an Internship at Google,” and “How to Win $60,000 in Cash Scholarships.” Her strong desire to see others succeed is what makes her unique and deserving of this recognition. Rachel’s drive for success has been infectious, and her presence over the last four years leaves the Daniels School in a better place. I look forward to watching Rachel replicate her incredible success at Purdue within her professional career.
Darren Henry
Managing Director, Dr. Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity Program
Mitch Daniels School of Business
DON’T MISS: 100 BEST & BRIGHTEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS MAJORS OF 2025
