Lillian Bedard

Babson College

“Never fitting into boxes, always full of surprises and constantly redefining what I’m capable of.”

Fun fact about yourself: I am an independent musician with over 200,000 listens to my original music on Spotify!

Hometown: Jupiter, Florida

High School: Suncoast High School

Major: Business Administration

Minor: Economics & People, Leadership, & Organizations

Favorite Business Course: Labor Economics

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

• Varsity Women’s Lacrosse: 3 Year Captain
• 2025 IWLCA Academic Honor Roll
• 2024, 2025 NEWMAC Academic All-Conference
• Arthur M. Blank Entrepreneurial Leadership Scholar (4-year full tuition scholarship): President of the Scholarship Group
• Economics Club: VP of Communications
• Springwell Friendly Visitor: Visiting elderly folks in the local community
• Student Professor: Taught self-made course “Songwriting as Self Discovery”
• Seven Time Dean’s List Recipient
• Athletics Tutor
• Strategy Preparation and Consulting Experience Mentor (Helping students prepare interview skills for consulting careers)

Where have you interned during your college career?

Tekterra Consulting, Strategy Intern, (May 2023-August 2023), Remote

Expand Human Resources, HR Intern (August 2024-December 2024) Remote

NextEra Energy Resources, Strategy & Business Analytics Intern (May 2024-August 2024), Juno Beach, FL

Boston Consulting Group, Summer Associate (June 2025-August 2025), Boston, MA

Where will you be working after graduation? Boston Consulting Group, Associate, Boston, MA

Who is your favorite business professor? My favorite business professor is Weerapat Attachot, who taught my Introduction to Financial Accounting class freshman year at Babson. It was the very first college class I ever sat in, and I remember being terrified to take such a “scary” business course after having so little business experience in high school. However, Weerapat immediately put me at ease. He told us we could call him “Go,” and he made challenging material feel surprisingly approachable for freshmen.

I was amazed by how much attention he gave to every individual student and how genuinely invested he was in my success. He would reach out to me personally about my scores, congratulating me after exams, which meant more than he probably realized. I was deeply inspired by how knowledgeable he was and by how cool it felt to see accounting applied to the real world, like I was finally getting to peek behind the curtain of how everything actually works. He almost convinced me to become an accountant!

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Business can also be an incredibly fulfilling career that involves the service of others. Most of my family has gone into healthcare and teaching, and I sometimes found myself questioning my decision to go into business. However, I think we could all stand to reframe our perspective. Business can and should be in service of others and the greater good. Business fields are tasked with solving the world’s biggest problems and making all our lives easier and more enjoyable. I would say going into your business degree and field with this perspective will help you lead a more fulfilling life and help to make the world a better place.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? I would have taken more time to truly get to know my business peers. Babson, especially, is full of unique and diverse entrepreneurs, and I wish I had met more of them. The few coffee chats I did have opened my eyes to the incredible things people are doing in the world. It is so easy to get wrapped up in your own experience and in the experiences of those most similar to you, but I wish I had been more intentional about broadening both my network and my perspective while in business school.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What is one insight you gained from using AI? The most interesting way AI has been integrated into programming is through expanding the power of our own coding skills. We learned how to prompt AI to write code that makes presentations and reports more efficient, like having it generate VBA that creates a base outline for a slide deck.

One insight I gained from using AI is that it is a tool, not a replacement. You have to be thoughtful about which tasks you delegate to AI and which you complete yourself. AI can absolutely increase speed and efficiency, but the most valuable ideas and final products still come from personal time, judgment, and effort.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of?  I am most proud of staying on the women’s lacrosse team at Babson. College sports can be grueling, especially while balancing so many other commitments like music, academics, clubs, and interviews. Coming from Florida, I struggled with practicing outside in the freezing Massachusetts cold six days a week from January to May. On top of that, our program has an extremely demanding run test called The Creighton, a series of half mile and quarter mile sprints and suicides. Even though I have never passed it, I have taken the test eleven times so far and I have never quit. Finally, I faced a devastating knee injury and missed my entire sophomore season after training for months.

Playing a college sport has taught me how to show up as my best, even when it is the last thing in the world I want to do. It has taught me how to put my teammates and something bigger than myself first. It has shown me that I am capable of pushing through my hardest days and still finding enjoyment and strength on the other side. I am incredibly proud of my lacrosse career at Babson, even though it was far from perfect.

Which classmate do you most admire? I admire my classmate Kaitlyn Pristawa. I met her freshman year when we were both Blank Scholars and spring athletes, with her playing on the softball team. From the very beginning, I have been struck by how consistently authentic she has been throughout her entire college experience.

She studied abroad in Cape Town and had an incredible time, taking classes she genuinely loved and pursued out of pure curiosity. She became a Natalie Taylor Scholar for social entrepreneurship and went on to win first place at UNITE 2030’s annual Changemaker Conference in New York City, which is such a testament to both her ideas and her drive. She also started an SAT preparation business with her brother, stays deeply involved in her local community by coaching softball, and somehow still finds time to be an elite CrossFit athlete.

What I admire most about Kaitlyn is not just how much she accomplishes, but the way she does it. She approaches life with warmth, generosity, and an infectious energy that makes everyone around her feel motivated and excited about what is possible. I deeply respect her passion for life and her kindness, and I have no doubt she is going to build an extraordinary future.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? I would want to thank my dad, Benjamin Bedard. He passed away from ALS in January of 2026, right before my last semester of college began. My dad worked tirelessly his entire life so that I could have the opportunities I have today. He was the most relentlessly curious person I have ever known, fascinated by history, science, math, and everything in between. He inspired my love of learning, reading, and, most importantly, truly enjoying life.

He pushed me to reach my full potential, always reminding me that I was capable of anything as long as I was willing to put in the hard work. He instilled in me the values of loving and respecting all people, striving to become the best version of yourself, and committing to learning and growing every day. I am who I am because of my dad.

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

1. Being a world-renowned expert in my field.
2. Starting my own foundation.

What made Lilly such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“Lilly Bedard represents the very best of Babson College and the next generation of values-driven business leaders. A multidimensional student, Lilly has distinguished herself as an award-winning athlete and musician while excelling academically as a multidisciplinary business major. What truly sets her apart, however, is how she leads—with empathy, integrity, and a deep commitment to community.

As Co-Chair of the Blank School Leadership Scholars Student Leadership Board, Lilly has played a pivotal role in shaping the scholar experience, fostering inclusive dialogue, and strengthening connections across students, faculty, and programs. She brings thoughtfulness and emotional intelligence to every space she enters, balancing strategic thinking with genuine care for others. Lilly leads not for recognition, but from a clear sense of purpose and responsibility.

Her personal discipline, creative expression, and collaborative leadership reflect the kind of entrepreneurial mindset business education should cultivate. Lilly embodies Babson’s mission of creating entrepreneurial leaders who generate both economic and social value—and she will undoubtedly carry that impact far beyond campus.”

Taryn Miller-Stevens
Strategic Programs & Growth, Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership

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