Emilie Orendorff ’26 turns adversity into empowerment for women in finance | Today at Elon

In a finance program where women are the minority, Elon University Business Fellow and finance major Emilie Orendorff, has turned challenge into purpose. As president of Elon’s Women in Finance, she’s creating a culture of mentorship and support that empowers students to lead with confidence. Outgoing and driven, Orendorff embraces her love of math and problem-solving, describing herself as “logical, analytical and someone who likes to fix things.”

Coming to Elon from Annapolis, Maryland, the small class sizes and opportunities for professor and peer mentorship enticed her to study at Elon. Her decision was led by a need for connection and community on campus, mentioning.

Freshman year, while with her peers in the Business Fellows, she realized others knew their finance education would lead them into a career, but not knowing her own path, she sought guidance from Chris Harris, associate professor of finance and chair of the Department of Finance. After an honest discussion of her likes, dislikes, aspirations and goals, she knew wealth management was the path she wanted to pursue.

“Wealth management is perfect for what I want to do, and it’s very rewarding, very analytical and (focused on) problem-solving, but it also has a client side and personal side, where you get to actually help people and change their lives for the better,” said Orendorff.

Being the president of the Women in Finance club, she faced some initial challenges in her understanding of finance and the ratio of women to men in her classes.

“There’s probably me and three other girls, if I’m lucky,” she said.

She also notes that finance doesn’t come naturally to her, saying, “I have to work a lot harder for it to stick.”

Being a leader in the club, she took these challenges head-on. Not letting the drawbacks get her down, she placed her focus on mentorship.

“The executive team and I are acting as big sisters who have gone through the process. I will hold your hand through the entire process,” she said. “I wanted a big sister in the process, and that’s what I’m trying to offer these girls in the club. There’s so much space for us, I want to let women know that.”

Her participation in the Business Fellows also helped challenge her personal growth.

“I came to school with a group of friends and the mindset that I already have 40 best friends. That changed everything for me when adjusting to college,” said Orendoff. “These people are ambitious, they’re extremely intelligent, they’re hard working and they push me to be the same. They’re involved in everything, and it’s not a competition, but I’m challenged for the better, and I really love being in a space like that.”

She says that this environment has also pushed her to be more forward-thinking and ambitious towards her goals in her finance career.

All of this growth and opportunity is supported by donors through the Dr. Beth Powell Business Fellows Scholarship and the Presidential Scholarship.

“My scholarships have equipped me to do so much at Elon and have assisted me and encouraged me to be more engaged and involved on campus,” she said.

Her scholarship helped her study abroad in Florence, Italy, where she was able to further her studies and grow in confidence.

“I was able to be more present in the world around me, and that’s an experience that I’ll never take for granted,” she explained. “It was all due to the scholarships that I got, which enabled me to be there.”

Through this experience, Orendorff recognizes the strength and confidence it took to put herself out there and be open to experiences in a country and culture foreign to her.

“I’m proud of how I didn’t doubt myself. I knew I could do it, and I created the steps, and I did so much because I didn’t restrict myself by thinking ‘I can’t do this.’ Instead, I said, ‘I’m going to find a way.’ I grew a lot in my confidence,” she said.

With this strengthened confidence and sense of self, she is inching towards graduation in May. Having been challenged and pushed by her peers and professors, she expresses that her growth mindset has her in the thought pattern of, “What’s the next best thing I need to achieve? What’s the next best thing I should grow towards?”

When asked what she would say to the donors who made her experiences possible, Orendorff expresses that ‘thank you’ will never be enough in her eyes. She hopes donors realize the impact they have.

“Each thing a student accomplishes is because of their support; each donor plays a part in a student’s story,” she said.