Enactus advisor Eugene Gentile speaks with students active in the organization, including Isabel Li, second from right.
Graduating student wants to make business better by combining skills and social purpose
Bubble Tea may seem an unlikely topic for a college senior’s thesis, but it made perfect sense for Isabel Li, a Rutgers Business School student fascinated by the intersection of sociology and marketing.
Li explored what happens when a product traditional to a culture – Taiwan in the case of Bubble Tea – goes global. Her takeaway? “In business, choices about culture and community carry weight, and leaders must reckon with their role in shaping power dynamics, authenticity, and visibility,” she said.
Li doesn’t just want to succeed in business, she wants to make it better. From critiquing how global brands profit off cultural traditions to leading student teams tackling pressing issues including poverty, inequality, and climate change, she’s focused on using business as a tool for social good.
“Being a thoughtful citizen is my goal,” said Li, who double majored in marketing and business analytics and information technology (BAIT), with a minor in sociology.
During her senior year, she served as president of Rutgers Enactus, an entrepreneurship club that addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. She appreciates that the club is focused on doing good and that it draws students from all majors and schools across the New Brunswick campus.
“It’s such a community, and it’s nice to meet people outside business classes with different perspectives. That really makes you think,” she said. “I want to challenge myself and others to consider the impacts business can have on culture, equity, and social good.”
“It’s important for future business leaders to recognize the influence they have and exercise that power thoughtfully, with care for the community we’re collectively shaping,” she said.
As the organization’s director of marketing in 2023, Li helped promote initiatives. That included working with a team that created a hydroponic system to address campus food insecurity and won that year’s Enactus national competition for early-stage projects. The team recently installed a third system at Rutgers–New Brunswick’s student food pantry to provide fresh produce.
Giving back has always been a family value. Her father organizes their hometown’s farmer’s market, and Li and her twin sister often lend a hand. The market supports local farmers, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits, and through the federal SNAP program, it helps provide fresh food to families in need. This summer, the sisters plan to sell their crafts at the market; Li, who crochets, makes some of her own clothes.
In June, she will start her job in information technology as part of a three-year rotational development program at Becton Dickinson. As she begins her post-graduate journey, Li will carry the lessons of service, collaboration and curiosity that shaped her time at Rutgers Business School.
-Margaret McHugh
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