Fellow:Alia Benabdeljalil
Alia Benabdeljalil is a University Innovation Fellow and an undergraduate student at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business. She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in International Business with a concentration in marketing and consumer insight, along with a minor in economics. Alia was born of a Moroccan father and Bengali mother, but she grew up in multiple cities throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. Thus, from a young age, she learned to adapt quickly to new cultures, to learn different languages, and to embrace a sense of adventure and belonging. This experience has taught her to be very open-minded.
During an internship at a New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s financial aid office, Alia’s exposure to the technology and information systems within the healthcare industry opened her eyes to the potential impact of innovation. As a result, she decided to seek out opportunities to learn more about design thinking and entrepreneurship. Soon thereafter, Alia was given the chance to join Fordham University’s UIF leadership circle. Furthermore, Alia was selected to become an Ignite Scholar, a select group of 30 students who follow an intensive honors program focused on innovation and strategies needed for the development of critical thinking and analysis skills used by business leaders to identify emerging trends.
Alia’s goals are now to use these experiences to design innovative approaches to social, economic, and political challenges in order to affect positive change in communities and world at large.
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