Alexandra "Lexx" Mills, MBA '22

Lexx Mills' passion for public service started at a young age; her parents came from low-income families in Washington D.C. and worked hard to make sure Lexx had access to quality education and the opportunities she wanted to pursue.

I grew up with a strong sense of gratitude and responsibility because of how hard my parents worked to ensure my childhood was completely different from theirs.

"I wanted to serve my community because I knew that everyone deserved that and I wanted to make the world a better place for Black families like mine.” But as she was finishing her bachelor’s in gender and women’s studies, Lexx wasn’t sure what her next move would be, and how that mission could become a reality. A chat with her advisors led her to apply for a Fulbright, an immersive, international cultural exchange program. The program took Lexx to Malaysia, where she taught English and American culture to students. 

Inspired by her time in Malaysia, Lexx moved back to the U.S. to become an elementary school teacher. But as time went on, Lexx witnessed the daily struggles her students and their families faced. Within the confines of the classroom, she felt there was little she could do to effect change in the communities her students lived in, and so she pivoted into community and economic development. For the next two years, she worked on the community impact team of a $5.5 billion urban revitalization project in Baltimore. Lexx worked with the leaders of six low-income communities on their neighborhood revitalization plans and collaborated with minority and women-owned businesses to ensure they received contracts on the development project.

During this time, Lexx said she got a first-hand look at real estate's power to transform communities, as well as its disparities. “In so many Black communities, we don't have ownership. We don't own the real estate. We don't own the land. So when investment comes, we can't truly benefit from it and build wealth. Commercial real estate is also one of the least diverse industries.” Lexx realized the urgent need for Black real estate developers and investors. She wanted to start her own company that invests in businesses and real estate in Black communities to serve as a platform for economic development in underserved areas. 

For Lexx, this meant pursuing graduate degrees in both business and urban planning. When asked about applying to Michigan Ross, Lexx admitted it wasn’t initially on her radar. But a close friend, who was in the process of applying to the Full-Time MBA program at Ross, convinced Lexx to check it out. After doing her research, Lexx was blown away by the leverage the full-time program had; action-based learning, a supportive network of alumni, and entrepreneurship programs, like the Zell-Lurie Institute, pushed her to apply. 

I could tell that Ross was a place where I was gonna be supported and where people truly wanted to see each other succeed.

Being a part of the Consortium community at Michigan Ross solidified Lexx’s view of the school. “It was really important for me to go to a business school with a strong Black community. It’s hard for me to imagine my business school experience without having them alongside me,” said Lexx. Consortium enhances the diversity in business education and leadership in both enrollment and management, creating a strong network for students of color. Having that sense of closeness helped Lexx build relationships with her cohort. “We’re all on this journey together. The way people support each other and love each other is just so amazing. I'm thankful for that.” 

Lexx hit the ground running at Michigan Ross; she joined the Real Estate Fund and Real Estate Club. This year, she has focused her energy on the Black Business Student Association, where she serves as VP of alumni relations. “I just launched an alumni mentorship program in which we paired alumni with current Black MBA students; this way, we can better leverage the power of our alumni network.” And in her downtime, she channels her creative energy towards singing in the Michigan Ross cover band, Risky Business. “Being in the band is completely different from anything I'm doing at school, or in my career, but it’s absolutely been a part of my personal growth. It’s allowed me to step outside my comfort zone and explore a completely different part of myself.” 

For Lexx, the culture of an MBA program matters a lot. Lexx’s advice to incoming students is focused on just that:

Talk to as many people as you can as you’re pursuing MBA programs: pay attention to what patterns are coming up in the conversation because that will really give you a true sense of what the culture is like at that school and if it’s the best fit for you to thrive in.

Lexx isn’t stopping anytime soon. After graduation, she plans to move to Detroit to pursue real estate development. She also hopes to continue developing a business venture she started with the Dare to Dream Entrepreneurship Program — RevelWell, an online education platform dedicated to relationships. “It has been invaluable to have this time in grad school to invest in me and create the path to bring my vision to fruition.”