Grand slam

A passion for learning how businesses work led Wright State business student Lily Leszczuk to pursue her own kind of grand slam by majoring in four areas. (Photo by Erin Pence)

A grand slam in tennis or golf means winning four major events. In baseball, it’s a home run with the bases loaded.

Wright State University student Lily Leszczuk is nearing her quest for a grand slam: graduating next year with four degrees and a minor. All while thriving with a disability that is not apparent to onlookers but played into why she chose to enroll at Wright State.

“I just want to be the best version of myself that I can be,” said the Riverside native.

To that end, she majors in entrepreneurship, human resource management, management and marketing while pursuing a minor in international business.

“Some people like to write, some like to draw,” she said. “I like to learn how businesses work – how they relate to their employees, how they go about encouraging them to stay in good times and bad times.”

She has taken as many credit hours as possible every semester, even in the summer. Leszczuk, who enrolled at Wright State in 2020, plans to graduate in the spring of 2025.

When she enrolled at Wright State, Leszczuk wasn’t sure what path to take. Eventually, it was suggested she take finance and accounting courses. Financial accounting left her cold, but management accounting intrigued her. She focused on the management and leadership aspects of accounting. Then came economics and marketing courses.

“I liked the marketing aspect,” she said, including the international facets that held her attention.

As an extension of her interests in marketing and management, she took courses in human resources. Her interest in learning about how businesses operate led her to add entrepreneurship to her class load. Her worldview of economics sparked her to take international business courses.

So is she busy? Yes, but that’s not out of character. Leszczuk said from elementary school through high school she participated in ballet, tap dancing, jazz dancing, hip hop and tumbling dancing, taekwondo, track, marching band – playing the clarinet and saxophone – and a range of clubs.

At Wright State, she participates in the Emerging Marketing Leaders Program, paired with a mentor who is in marketing in health care, and is vice president of the American Marketing Association, Wright State Chapter.

These activities are important because they allow her to connect with people in businesses and related fields.

For Leszczuk, Wright State is the right place because it is close to her home and family and supports people with disabilities.

“I’m hearing impaired. Wright State has made it a lot easier for me to learn,” she said.

Through Wright State’s Office of Disability Services, she receives transcripts of lectures and other help that makes it easier to stay focused.

“We’re not just a campus with accessibility but resources to help people,” she said. “The culture here is really great.”

Speaking of Leszczuk, Rachel Sturm, Ph.D., associate dean of the Raj Soin College of Business, said, “She has a natural curiosity about how things work and is open to new ideas and experiences. Being a four-time major not only takes a strong level of tenacity but coordination and organization as well, which is amazing to see in an undergraduate student.”

Sturm, who taught Leszczuk in an international management class, added, “I was impressed with Lily’s proactiveness and reaching out in advance if she had any questions on the content.”

Looking forward to life after graduation, Leszczuk said, “I’m excited to get a job in HR or marketing. I think I’d be good at digital, social media, advertisements, writing scripts for speeches.”

She added she has no anxiety speaking to an audience. In fact, she was interviewed in a video about the university’s Wright Brothers Day celebration.

Her goal not only is to succeed but to do so quickly and parley that success into a business of her own. She has an eye on developing and marketing a board game. Above all, she loves to learn.

“Wright State gives me the tools I need for success,” Leszczuk said. “The rest is up to me.”