Lila Al-shwaf

2017 Mike Ilitch School of Business 25 Under 25 winner

B.S. in Global Supply Chain expected May 2017

Lila Al-shwaf is a member of the Honors College and has made the Dean's List every semester of her Wayne State career. She has received and maintained multiple scholarships, including the Wayne State Gold Scholarship, the Transportation Club of Detroit Scholarship, and the Jack A. Hamm and Bessie I. Hamm Endowed Scholarship.

Lila was part of the Ilitch School's first study abroad trip to China at Wuhan University. She represented Wayne State on the annual General Motors/Wayne State University Case Competition and in a research group that helped Ford Motor Company's 2025 project identify economic trends and skills that future buyers will need to tackle them. She also has worked as a research assistant under Professor Tingting Yan, assisting with a study on innovation and supplier and buyer roles.

On the board of the Muslim Students' Association, Lila has served as secretary and academic services director. In the latter role, she created the Book Borrowing Program, wherein students donate their old textbooks for other students to borrow for the semesters they need them. This includes an online catalog and internal logistics system for maintenance, transportation and storage. To date, this program has collected dozens of books and saved students thousands of dollars.

As social media director of the Global Supply Chain Management Association, Lila has created official social media accounts and a comprehensive plan to present the organization in a professional and engaging manner through branding guidelines and a marketing strategy.

One of the primary Honors College pillars Lila values is community service. She has continuously volunteered with the Inside Out Literary Arts Program, working with elementary school children in Detroit to generate essays and poetry, setting up an after school arts and crafts club, and improving students' reading skills. She has volunteered with Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries' soup kitchen, as well as at events that include water collection and distribution in Flint, Gleaners Community Food Bank packaging, and the largest tree planting event in the history of the Greening of Detroit.

Lila has given female Muslim students at Wayne State a voice in discussions on diversity and inclusion at the WSU Academic Advising Summit, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) annual conference in Washington D.C., and in a video published by the university titled "Her Story."

She has interned at GKN Driveline, an engineering company in Auburn Hills, and General Motors, which has hired her for a full-time position in the Track Program starting in July.

"I feel that I have been able to take advantage of a plethora of opportunities at Wayne State and am grateful for every moment I have had," Lila says.'

2018 update: 

Lila currently works at General Motors as an electrical buyer for switches, speakers and amplifiers. In addition, she is working towards a master's degree in Industrial Engineering with a specialization in lean operation management at Wayne State. Lila graduated from WSU in May 2017 with a bachelor's of science in global supply chain management. 

Connect with Lila on LinkedIn