Meet Lia Papafloratos '24

My name is Lia and I’m a senior in the Industrial and Labor Relations School. I am interested in organizational behavior, business, and consulting. I chose ILR because of the unique opportunities, exceptional support, and interesting classes. One of my favorite classes that I’ve taken was an organizational behavior class called “Understanding and Improving Decision Making” with Professor Fath. This class delved into the process of how people make decisions and how this can affect the organizational consequences of the process, like the impact of bias in the hiring process.

ILR has many different offices that assist students throughout their time at Cornell. I’ve met with advisors in the Office of Student Services, the Office of Career Services, and the Office of Engaged and Experiential Programs many times. These resources are easily accessible and were extraordinarily helpful when I had questions about my schedule, classes I should take, job searching, job offer advising, and the process of studying abroad. ILR also exposed me to business opportunities through Career Fairs, ILR exclusive coffee chats, and ILR Recruiting Events.

Participating in the ILR Exchange Program is a special opportunity that ILR offers to immerse students in a new country and learn about different cultures. Through this experience, I was able to study at Queen Mary’s School of Business Management while earning 15 advanced ILR elective credits. Some of the classes I took included Gender at Work, Creative Industries, Organizational Learning, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship. I was able to learn through different methods of teaching and immerse myself in a new environment.

I started exploring my interests in business my sophomore year summer when I participated in a fellowship program at JP Morgan Chase for Corporate Consumer General Management. Throughout this experience, I was able to attend panels and listen to senior speakers. I also worked on team projects and received hands-on experience while learning about the different lines of business within CCGM.

This summer, I interned at Ernst & Young within People Advisory Services. I discovered this opportunity through ILR’s career events and coffee chats. I was able to apply my classroom knowledge to real world situations to work with teams for a client. Through creating deliverables, I was able to expand on my PowerPoint and Excel skills. During my internship, I created change management solutions and received tax and consulting training. I was also able to create an expansive network to learn about the company’s culture and what it means to work in the field of consulting.