B.A. in Social Sciences with a Concentration in History
Alumna, Class of 2005
The Laila Rowe boutiques have quickly become popular among women in New York seeking to purchase high-quality, trendy jewelry and accessories at discounted prices. In just four short years, co-owner Alexia Crawford has managed the chain’s explosive growth from just one Upper West Side location, to over 22 retail stores across the United States.
Crawford credits her dad with first sparking her interest in semi-precious stones in her native Australia. This eventually led her to begin to design and sell women’s jewelry that she made at her kitchen table in 1993. Positive customer reactions to her creations at local flea markets, community centers, and the like, inspired Crawford to plunge full-time into the jewelry business.
Like many of her peers, she left the University of Sydney after completing her third year of study to live and to work abroad. Crawford never went back, living first in London, England, and then in New York. As the years went by, despite her busy schedule as a successful entrepreneur, her happy marriage, and motherhood, one aspect of her life remained incomplete—her education.
She decided to enroll in the Paul McGhee Division at NYU-SCPS, attending classes part-time in the evenings and on weekends, all while launching the Laila Rowe stores. She graduated from McGhee in 2005 with a B.A. in Social Sciences and a concentration in history.
In 2010, she was inducted into the Commission of Independent Colleges and Universities (cIcu) Alumni Hall of Distinction for her accomplishments as a role model for economic development.