MBA Insider's Blog

First Year Perspectives: Preparing for Your Summer Internship

About Tara: Tara Kezic (’24) grew up in San Diego before heading off to Texas to get her degrees in Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from Southern Methodist University. After graduation, she made a hard pivot and became a consultant at EY-Parthenon where she focused on doing growth strategy assessments for consumer retail companies. She loves working at EY-Parthenon so much, she’s already committed to returning after graduation! In her free time, Tara enjoys traveling, watching tennis, and trying new restaurants.

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Wow, what a year! Feels like just yesterday that I packed up my life and moved to LA to start at Anderson. It’s been an incredible experience so far – I have met some amazing people, taken extremely interesting classes, and scored my summer internship in consulting. Now that spring quarter is upon me, I’m starting to feel the simultaneous excitement and anxiety of starting my internship in a new city in an office of all new people. But there are a few things I’m doing to prepare for everything and (hopefully) set myself up for a successful summer:

1. Keeping up with my network in the firm

We all spend our fall and winter quarters meeting people at our favorite consulting firms by scheduling coffee chats, attending presentations, and visiting offices. Through all this, we get to meet some great people who will be our future coworkers, and who we can continue to keep up with as we prepare for our internships! I’ve worked hard to not let these connections fade just because I’ve signed my offer, continuing to get coffee with them and messaging back and forth as I prepare to join them.

2. Leaning on my classmates who will be interning with me

I’m lucky enough to have a group of 8(!) fellow classmates interning with me this summer which means I have a built-in support network I can leverage as we go through it all. Currently, we are discussing potential start dates, the types of projects we want to do, and how often we plan to go into the office. It’s been an early bonding experience and I feel it will better prepare us as we navigate through 8 weeks in the office together.

3. Learning the “lay of the land”

As a consultant, there is no day-to-day I can lean on when working so it's all about learning the little things for what to expect. I’m mentally prepared for either consulting scenarios of staying at home and working remotely or traveling every day -  as both are just as likely to happen. I’m already looking at what traffic looks like to get to and from the office on a Friday and arranging for some carpooling to pass the time. Mostly, I’m excited to try something new and have a unique intern experience.

4. Getting ready to have a great time!

Internships are meant to be fun – it’s all about getting to know the people and office culture to make the best decision as to whether you want to return. I can’t wait to attend office events, trainings, and of course happy hours. My major goal is to form great relationships with new people that I can have for years to come!

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Student Blogger: Tara Kezic ‘24

Undergrad: Southern Methodist University (’17) – B.S. Electrical Engineering, B.S. Applied Mathematics

Pre-MBA: Management Consulting, EY-Parthenon

Leadership@Anderson: VP of Social, Anderson Student Association; VP of Prospective Student Affairs, Admission Ambassador Corps; VP of Community, WBC; EVP, Wine Club

Instagram: @tarakezic

First Year Perspectives: Recruiting in the Summer Prior to Your 1st Year

About Patrick: Patrick Macias (’24) is originally from Sacramento, CA. He graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) with a Bachelor’s in Industrial & Systems Engineering. After USC, Patrick went to Orange County to work at Applied Medical as an Operations Team Leader and later, a Project Manager. At Anderson, he seeks to pivot into consulting and will be interning at Bain & Co. over the summer in San Francisco. Patrick is incredibly interested in both the CPG & Gaming industries as potential consulting exit routes.

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Most people at Anderson don’t even think about recruiting until the fall quarter. People wait until companies are on campus to start networking to land their dream internships. I was a little different. I actually received my internship offer the week before classes started! 

The summer before I started my MBA, I was a participant in a group run by an organization called Management’s Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT). This group focuses on providing academic and career support for underrepresented minorities (URMs). Through them, I participated in a program called MBA Professional Development (PD). This program is aimed at helping URMs who are MBA-bound network with employers in their desired industry. I received a resume review and 1-on-1 coaching from a current industry professional. My coach, Jeremy Hemsworth, is currently a director at Slack. I received a ton of assistance and prepared to hunt for my dream role. I attended a conference where I got to network with every consulting firm recruiting MBA students where I had coffee chats and casing workshops for three days straight. While I was there, I also got to talk to employees at my future firm. 

I met two recent MBA grads who were both consultants at Bain and they told me about their firm’s pre-MBA program, Building and Supporting Excellence (BASE). I applied to BASE that same day. To my surprise, I got an interview invite! I spent the following week casing with all of my friends who were recruiting for consulting. We were relentless in our preparation and, eventually, I had my interview and received an offer the next day! As a BASE Scholar, I would be working at Bain for a week with the hopes of getting an internship offer. On top of that, I was Anderson’s first BASE Scholar, a worthy honor for my program to rep!

Come the end of July, I started my weeklong BASE internship! I got to sit on the top floors of Salesforce Tower and work with an actual case team. I got to see a team of consultants work with a CPG company to provide insight into their latest corporate conundrum. During the week, I met people at all levels of the company and spent my breaks walking around Salesforce Park. After five days, I gave a final presentation to firm partners about my week. About an hour later, I got an invite to a meeting with a Bain manager I had worked with. I hopped on just to find out I was being made an offer! I hung up, called my parents, and proceeded to cry in a random conference room. I left San Francisco that night and moved to LA to start Anderson the following Monday. I arrived on campus with all of my classmates and was able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing I was starting the school year off in a good spot. I highly encourage all those who are eligible for these opportunities to go for it! 

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Student Blogger: Patrick Macias ‘24

Undergrad: University of Southern California ('18) - B.S. Industrial & Systems Engineering

Pre-MBA: Project Management, Applied Medical

Leadership@Anderson: Incoming Out@Anderson President, Incoming Craft Beer Club President, ALMA Director of Club Partnerships, EMA Director of EDI, First-Year Director, Admission Ambassador Corps, AnderEats Director of Club Partnerships

Instagram handle: @CallMeMacias

First Year Perspectives: Consulting At Anderson - Truths and Advice

 

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There are two kinds of people you’ll meet at business school. People who think consulting is worth the hustle and people who don’t. As you can tell from the title of this blog post, I fall into the category of being in love with the idea of being a management consultant.

What’s not to like about solving C-Suite problems and earning all those miles jetting around?

I've been through the rigors of consulting recruiting and would love to share some wisdom I gathered on the journey.

#1 NETWORKING - CAST A WIDE NET

Anderson sets you up for success by providing you with ample opportunities to network. The cool part about being in LA is that many consulting companies have offices close to campus. Various professional and identity clubs host events to bring practitioners to campus giving everyone ample facetime to make connections. These connections are crucial to get that interview offer. Most of these practitioners are also alums and are extremely helpful in answering any questions about the job.

As a candidate, I had to do some groundwork by researching the company, the practitioner's background, and anything else that could make good conversation. However, often I found myself not able to strike the right chord or felt unsure if made the connection. When sending thank you emails, I tried so hard to personalize them without making them cringe. I remember feeling so unsure every time I clicked the send button. And that’s totally okay. It’s the name of the game. But the key here is to reach out to as many people in your extended network because you never know who and when that person who opens the door for you is.

#2 CASING - NO FORMULA EXISTS

I am yet to find that one book that is the holy grail of casing. And there is no right number of cases to cram through before you become an expert. And there is no one style that fits all.

Casing is as much art as it is science. Memorizing a dozen frameworks or being a mathematical genius does not guarantee success. Neither does bouncing around numerous ideas or cracking the case quickly.

While this is not meant to scare you, it's to prepare you for what's ahead. I have done over a dozen cases to understand what constitutes a good case interview. Case practice has been an exhausting but rewarding journey for me. I have learned to think in a logical way and got better at organizing my thoughts. Rest assured, these skills will be useful for the rest of my business career.

#3 SUPPORT SYSTEM - IT TAKES A VILLAGE

The second years help coach the first years, right from giving us tips on doing math faster to teaching us the importance of structure. Through MCA (Management consulting association), you get to be part of IPT (Interview Prep Teams) which pair you with second years to sharpen your case interview skills. Parker gives you access to ACT (Anderson Career Teams), where second-year coaches help polish your resumes and cover letters and much more. ACT Coaches are your confidantes, mentors, biggest cheerleaders and literally the torch bearers.

I should give a special shoutout to my Parker advisor, Dave Henry. He’s been an exceptional resource to me and a true motivator. The biggest support system was also my own cohort, who have helped me in more ways than I can type here. All this is to say, that the resources are plenty. And it's truly wonderful to have so many people rooting for your success and is ready for you to lean in on.

#4 HIGH SUPPLY - LOW BARRIER TO ENTRY

While for Banking you got to have a background in finance or show domain knowledge for Tech jobs, consulting does not require any specific degree or experience.

An engineer or entrepreneur or painter can justify their interest in consulting easily. Since companies service a wide array of industries, your background could uniquely position you to help clients. This means you can walk into consulting recruiting easily. Sounds wonderful right? Not really.

Imagine being in a room that anyone can walk into but has only a few doors open to the other end. All I mean to say here is that while there are many companies that recruit from UCLA Anderson, given the limited spots and large pool of interested MBA’s it can be quite challenging.

But if you’re prepared to work hard and access every resource Anderson has to offer, you will gain tremendously in a short period of time. I hope some of these notes help you understand consulting recruiting better. I am happy to talk about any of this and more. Feel free to email me on [email protected]

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Summer Internship Spotlight: Sports

About Cliodhna: Cliodhna is originally from Ireland and spent her childhood growing up in Hong Kong and Dublin before moving to the U.S. to study sport management and play D1 field hockey at UMass Amherst. Prior to Anderson, she worked in Boston as a senior category associate at Wayfair. Truly sports-obsessed, she is focused on pivoting into a sports marketing or strategy role and spends most of her spare time being active, playing field hockey and soccer, running and snowboarding/skiing.  

About Kendall: Kendall Brown (’23) is a second year full-time MBA student at UCLA Anderson who is pursuing a career in the sports industry. Originally from Carson, CA, he attended Cornell University where he majored in Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) and played on the varsity football team. After graduating, he moved to Washington, D.C. and worked in management consulting, most recently at Accenture where he focused on post-merger integration initiatives. In his spare time, you can find Kendall diligently working to improve his golf handicap, searching for LA’s best taco, or giving back to his community.

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Cliodhna

This summer I’m working with the LA Rams in their International department focused on helping the team grow their fan base in their designated international marketing areas: Mexico, China, Australia and New Zealand. I had the best first day I’ve ever had, starting my internship on Media Day at SoFi stadium where I got to see most of the star players film promotional content for the upcoming year (the moment I walked up to the stadium I felt that pride of realizing I was truly working in sports!). Since then, I have been immersed in learning as much as I can about our international fan bases and the opportunities available to connect with them across digital/social media, TV/radio, sponsorships, in-person activations, merchandising and community/youth football development. With just 3 of us on a very new team, it’s been a fun challenge to work in a more ambiguous, independent role and to have the opportunity to really make an impact on the team’s strategy and processes. I love how cross-functional our team is and while the culture at the Rams is very friendly and casual, I can tell everyone is super hard-working and passionate about building off the success of last year and helping the team be even better this year to hopefully win another championship! RAMS HOUSE!!

 

 

Kendall

Kendall with the new Larry O’Brien Championship trophy (awarded to the winner of the NBA Finals) on his final day at the New York office.

This summer I interned at the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Content Strategy & Business Intelligence team. My team’s mission is to provide data-backed insights and strategies that help the NBA best exploit its digital content objectives. My work at the league has been focused in three areas: benchmarking best practice direct to consumer (DTC) content strategies, analyzing and developing approaches to drive social media users to own & operated platforms, and building a framework for the NBA to effectively measure original content return on investment (ROI). This was certainly an exciting time to work on these initiatives as the league looks to transform its DTC business while maximizing reach and engagement, especially among young and new fans.

 In addition to project work, the intern cohort participated in a series of professional development sessions, learned about the business of basketball from functional leaders, and heard from some of the most respected executives in the industry: Commissioner Adam Silver, Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum, and Basketball Hall of Famer Joe Dumars. Other personal highlights included walking alongside our “Ball for All” float in the NYC Pride March, witnessing the NY Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu drop a 30 piece in just 3 quarters (#SupportWomensSports), and attending tentpole events such as the NBA Draft where Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren came dressed to impress!

The intern cohort learning from Commissioner Silver about the NBA’s greatest strength: its commitment to standing at the center of justice. 

 

The intern cohort and Basketball Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, where he discussed the necessity to have an insatiable desire to succeed.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank my classmates, the Parker Career Management team, and the Sports Business Association for preparing me for this opportunity. The sports and entertainment resources we have at Anderson are unmatched. While living in New York and working at one of the world’s leading professional sports leagues has been a dream come true, I’m excited to get back to sunny Westwood, California for year two. First stop? In-N-Out Burger!

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Student Blogger: Cliodhna Loughlin ‘23

Undergrad: UMass Amherst ‘17

Pre-MBA: Category Management, Wayfair

Leadership @ Anderson: VP of Business Development, Sports Business Association, EVP of Out@Anderson

 

Student Blogger: Kendall Brown ‘23

Undergrad: Cornell University ’16 – Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR)

Pre-MBA: Management Consulting (Accenture, EY)

Leadership@Anderson: Anderson Student Association (ASA) President; Director of Career Development, Sports Business Association; Director of Admissions, Black Business Students Association; Section Vice President (E); Riordan MBA Fellows Mentor

Summer Internship Spotlight: Women in Finance

About Elizabeth: Elizabeth Williams (‘23) is from Dallas, TX and received a Masters in Professional Accounting (2017) and BBA (2016) from the University of Texas. Prior to MBA school, Elizabeth spent four years at KPMG working in the audit and consulting practices. She is involved in several Anderson organizations and enjoys exploring LA.

About Sofia: Sofia Jimenez (’23) is from Sacramento, CA and received a B.S. in mathematics/economics from USC in 2016. Prior to attending Anderson, Sofia worked as an associate portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein in New York City. Sofia is a Consortium member, UCLA Fink Fellow, and serves on the Investment Finance Association, John Anderson Golf Club, and Admissions Ambassador Corps boards. 

About Mariana: Mariana de Vicenzo (’23) is from Santa Ana, CA and received a B.A. in Economics from Georgetown University in 2014. Prior to Anderson, Mariana worked as a strategic pricing manager at Dexcom Inc. in San Diego, CA. Mariana is a Consortium member, UCLA Fink Fellow, and serves on board of the Investment Finance Association, Entertainment Management Association, Strategy and Operations Management Association and ALMA. 

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Each of us have a different background in finance and different vision for our future careers, but together we navigate the world of finance and believe in supporting women in this industry. Outside of our summer internships, we continue to work together along with 8 other students to manage the Student Investment Fund, a $4 million portion of the UCLA endowment. Having a small, connected network of students to share ideas and our experiences with has been invaluable for all of us. We look forward to sharing a bit about our summer internships with you!

Elizabeth 

I am working at Closed Loop Partners in New York City this summer on the buyout private equity fund. Closed Loop is an investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity and catalytic capital as well as an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. I’m sure you are wondering what is the circular economy? It is a new economic model which is an overhaul of how products are designed, manufactured, sold, refurbished, and recycled - reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and protecting our environment. I came to MBA school to pivot into impact investing and this summer has been a great experience getting to work on the commercial side of sustainable investing. 

Over the past several weeks I have worked on a variety of aspects of the deal process including pipeline development and evaluation, due diligence on an active deal, and portfolio monitoring. Our fund invests in companies along the value chain to build circular supply chains. In addition to learning an extensive amount about recycling, I am also developing a market landscape on a potential new industry for our fund. Closed Loop is a unique investment company with 70% female employees. It has been an incredible opportunity working at a firm with people from all different backgrounds and at the forefront of sustainability through strategic investments.

 

Sofia

This summer I am working at Post Advisory Group in Los Angeles, CA. Post is an asset manager specializing in high yield credit and senior loans. Having a background in equities, I was eager to try a new asset class, and Los Angeles has long been known as a credit hub. This summer, I’ve learned that that reputation holds true.  

During my first month on the job the news was flooded with inflation concerns and rate hikes; to say the least, it was a volatile time in the markets. But the managers at Post all approached it with seasoned experience and allowed me a front row seat to their decision-making process. In my internship, I am assisting with analytics, client communication, and writing a research paper which will contribute to Post’s marketing efforts. Despite my outfit in the picture (right), Post is incredibly casual! I am loving working in an intellectual finance world with a relaxed California attitude. 

 

Mariana

This summer I am interning at Credit Suisse in LA on the Financial Sponsors and REGAL (Real-estate, Gaming and Leisure) groups. Prior to working at Credit Suisse, I spent seven years working in the healthcare industry within Corporate Finance, Revenue Management and Commercial Pricing.  My well-rounded experience around the income statement helped to build a foundation of business fundamentals that has allowed me to make a transition into banking. 

Despite the markets slowing down, I have been very fortunate to have been placed on two very exciting and active deals for our office this summer - on each side of the house - sponsors and gaming. This summer I have had the privilege to be on the team facilitating the transaction of Citrix and Vista on the Sponsors side and on the Gaming side, my and I are helping a client bid for an acquisition target. 

Despite the steep learning curve on office specific practices, my teammates have been incredible, which makes our long nights worthwhile. I have learned to build LBO models from scratch and understand first hand the importance of managing and structuring leverage.  Everyday I learn something different and I am constantly being pushed beyond my limits. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store for me and the team. 

Me and my teammate working on a presentation until 1AM 

My intern class and I on 7/4 watching the fireworks

 

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Student Blogger: Elizabeth Williams '23

Education: University of Texas BBA‘16 & MPA‘17

Pre-MBA: Advisory Senior Associate Financial Due Diligence @ KPMG

Leadership@Anderson:  VP Portfolio Monitoring for Anderson Venture Impact Partners (AVIP), VP Career Development for Net Impact, Forté Fellow and Ambassador

 

 Student Blogger: Sofia Jimenez '23

Undergrad: University of Southern California ‘16

Pre-MBA: Associate Portfolio Manager, AllianceBernstein

Leadership@Anderson:  Admissions Ambassador Corps VP of EDI, Investment Finance Association Director of IM ACT, John Anderson Golf Club VP of EDI

 

 Student Blogger: Mariana de Vicenzo '23

Undergrad: Georgetown University ‘14

Pre-MBA: Strategic Pricing Manager, Dexcom Inc. 

Leadership@Anderson:  Investment Finance Association VP of EDI, Entertainment Management Association VP of Career Night, and Strategy, Operations Management Association VP of Admissions, and ALMA EVP 

Summer Internship Spotlight: Abroad Internships

About Aaron: Aaron Meltzer (’23) is a second year at UCLA Anderson. Prior to Anderson, he was a consultant at Slalom Consulting in Los Angeles. He came to Anderson to pivot into product management and get his toes wet in entrepreneurship. In his spare time, you can find Aaron playing tennis, bouldering/rock climbing, watching anime, or biking around LA. 

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This summer I am interning as a product manager in Tokyo, Japan, at Rakuten. Many people know Rakuten from their sponsorship on either the FC Barcelona or Golden State Warriors jerseys, but in Japan, they are well known as a tech giant. I learned about this position while browsing MyCareer (Anderson’s job listings) one day and stumbled upon this role in Japan. I knew I wanted to try product management and I had fallen in love with Japan four years earlier on a work trip, so I figured why not apply. I ended up getting the position and was told there was a 70% chance I would be able to do the internship in Tokyo due to uncertainty around securing my work visa. I decided to take the gamble. After ten weeks of filling out forms and a lot of waiting, I got my official 3-month visa as an “engineering specialist” four days before my internship was due to start. 

Fast forward four days and I’m now living in Tokyo near Tokyo Tower, a big tourist attraction. Rakuten set me up with an apartment (thank goodness), where the kitchen is a hallway, there’s a tv in the bathtub, and the toilet has a seat warmer and cleaning feature. I was so excited to start my journey. There was a small adjustment period, but I quickly learned my way around the city, got acquainted with my team at work, and started eating my way through Tokyo. 

Rakuten offers an ecosystem of products that help consumers in Japan (and expanding globally) in almost every key function in their life – finance, travel, e-commerce, entertainment, and even sports. For this internship, I have been able to help create a new product within Rakuten’s sports business department, called Rakuten Academy. The project aims to give kids access to top sports learning content and to mentors like Andres Iniesta, Yuto Horigome, and hopefully Steph Curry. Through a digital platform with videos and personalized coaching, kids can improve their gameplay and supplement their physical training. This project aligns with the sports business unit’s goal of democratizing sports by supporting amateur athletes. In my 9 weeks here, I am helping define the team’s long-term vision and am leading the product development of a key feature, one-on-one consultation, where a kid can submit videos of his training/game play and have a coach annotate and respond to the video with feedback and tips.  

The internship is about a 40-minute commute from Akabanebashi station to Futako-Tamagaway station, with one line transfer. Having lived 6 years in New York, I was a bit worried about the commute. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that trains are impeccably clean, they come every 3 minutes without a hiccup, and people are always polite and silent. Every day I get to the office, queue in a very long, organized line for the elevators, and start my day. My work has been very interesting: learning about company culture, eating fermented soybeans at lunch (called natto), leading brainstorming sessions, and participating in team happy hours. My team, Rakuten Academy, is very global. We have two Japanese natives, two people from France, one from Poland, one Spaniard, and me, a Mexican American. Although my team is very global, the rest of the company is more Japanese than I anticipated. Not many people speak even conversational English, the company culture is very hierarchical, and there are some strict rules. For example, you must always place the company badge on the left side, and it is mandatory for every employee to read Hiroshi Mikitani’s (the CEO) book. 

Outside of work, I’ve been able to explore Japan a bit during a unique time when the borders are not yet open for tourism. I’ve done interesting things like going to an owl café, skydiving, fishing for my food at a restaurant, and I even attended a sumo tournament. In the next couple of weeks, I plan on climbing Mt. Fuji, scuba diving with manta rays, and stuffing my face with all the sushi I can before I head back to the real world. For anyone considering working/living abroad, I highly recommend trying it at least once.

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Student Blogger: Aaron Meltzer '23

Undergrad: New York University ‘16

Pre-MBA: Consultant, Slalom Consulting

Leadership@Anderson: VP of D48s & External Relations, Entrepreneurship Association

Summer Internship Spotlight: Consulting

About Gaby: Gaby Cornelio (’23) was born and raised in Los Angeles. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a double major in Economics and Media Studies. After graduation, Gaby worked for The CW TV network, first in integrated marketing then in partnership marketing, helping grow viewership for its streaming app. After trying out the marketing agency life, she transitioned into tech, joining the member experience group at Tinder. At Anderson, she recruited for consulting while also exploring venture capital. Outside of school, Gaby loves to watch the Hot Ones show on YouTube, visit theme parks, go on road trips, and spend way too long on Tik Tok.

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Hi Everyone! I’m Gaby Cornelio, and this summer, I am a Summer Consultant at EY Parthenon based in their LA office. I’m aligned to the Transaction Strategy & Execution group this summer, but full-time consultants would start as generalists who could work in other service lines as well, like Turnaround and Restructuring or Value Creation. EY Parthenon specializes in M&A consulting, but they also have strong corporate and growth strategy practices as well. To be completely honest, consulting wasn't my initial focus when I entered business school, but I’m very excited to have this internship opportunity right now to decide if this will be the next step in my career after graduation.  

 

At the start of the internship, all of us interns were on the edge of our seats before finding out which project we were going to start out with for the summer. I scanned for my name down the “Intern Placements” excel doc and saw that I would be working on a post-merger synergies project for an advanced manufacturing client. Quite the mouthful! Although these terms felt so foreign to me a few weeks ago, my team - consisting of a senior director, director, and two senior associates - has allowed me the space and time to learn and contribute as much as I can during these ten weeks. It’s not easy jumping into projects midway through, but as a consultant, it’s something you might encounter and will need to know how to catch up quickly.

 

Within two weeks of my joining the project, we co-located (i.e. when a team spread out geographically meets up in one office to work together) in New York at EY’s newest Manhattan office. Being able to work side-by-side physically with my team was valuable when getting to know each other and collaborating. While traveling every week is less common in the industry these days, this trip allowed me to get a taste of what the typical consultant lifestyle might be like as you travel between cities to meet with your team and the client. Day to day, I am helping update synergy models, maintaining a status tracker for the team, and making sure that any client-facing documents and decks are presentation-ready. If I’m not working on these things or in team meetings, I am having coffee chats with other practitioners at EYP, meeting with my internship counselor or peer buddy, attending practitioner panels, or enjoying one of the many social and community service events they hold in the summer (we’ve done Beach Olympics, volunteering at a food bank, Top Golf, small group dinners with partners, and even a meditation class). I will say that the breadth of projects that the interns are staffed on this summer is very wide, and the daily workload truly varies intern to intern. I’m keeping in mind that, just like a full-time role, every day can be different depending on the type of project, the phase of the project, and your clients’ wants and needs.    

 

If I can share any advice to you as you look for and embark on your own summer internships next year, it’d be this:

-   Internships are for exploration; use this time to try out something new and be open to new industries and functions. You're not locked into whatever future role you wrote your MBA application essays about.

-   Push yourself and take risks. Business school is the best time to be uncomfortable and think beyond what you thought you would be or should be doing.

-   Don’t shy away from skillsets you might be weaker in. I’ll be the first to tell anyone that Excel and financial modeling isn’t my strong suit, but it is a skill that I have been trying to strengthen during my time at Anderson and during the internship. Being honest with your team about your strengths and weaknesses, and working to improve on those weaknesses, will help you become a more well-rounded professional.

 

If you’re considering consulting, a career switch, or just want to chat, please don't hesitate to reach out. And lastly, good luck and, most importantly, have fun!

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Student Blogger: Gaby Cornelio ‘23

Undergrad: UC Berkeley (’15) – B.A. Economics, B.A. Media Studies

Pre-MBA: Tinder, The CW

Leadership@Anderson: VP of Technology, Anderson Student Association; VP of Operations, Anti-Racism Committee; Net Impact Board Fellow

Summer Internship Spotlight: Wolfen Fellowship

About Lauren: Lauren Browning ('23) is a rising second year pursuing entrepreneurship at Anderson. As a first year she served as president of her section (go section E!), a director of AVIP and joined many interest clubs (comedy, wine, tennis). This coming school year she will be a VP for AVIP and is one of the entrepreneurship ACT coaches. 

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As a Wolfen Fellow this summer, I am finally working on my venture full-time! For those of you who don't know, the Wolfen Award is given to first year FTMBA students who want to pursue their own entrepreneurial endeavors during the summer between first and second year. I founded a sustainable swimwear company Ricki Rum a few years ago, but always worked on it in conjunction with a full-time job. Time and resources are the the most precious things you can give a startup founder and so far this summer I have taken full advantage. Just today I was talking with other founders about managing teams and tough conversations that come with running a business. I'm so grateful to have a built-in support system, also known as the aptly named "wolf pack." I've also spent my summer so far getting projects started that would have otherwise been 6+ months out. I'm in talks with PR teams, branding agencies, co-packers and have already started on the 2023 swimwear line. This experience as a Wolfen Fellow is setting me up for success my second year at Anderson. I hope by this time next year Ricki Rum will be my official full-time job. 

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Student Blogger: Lauren Browning ‘23

Undergrad: Emory University (’14) – Bachelors in Business Administration

Pre-MBA: Marketing, American Express

Activities@Anderson: VP, Anderson Venture Impact Partners, Entrepreneurship ACT Coach

The Balancing Act of Business School – Coursework, Social, Recruiting, and Everything Else

About Danielle: Danielle Truitt (’23) is a first-year MBA candidate at UCLA Anderson. She comes from a background in Sales Operations & Strategy at VC-backed companies, including Yotpo and WeWork. This summer Danielle will be interning at Bain & Company as a Summer Associate in the Los Angeles office. Outside of school, she enjoys exploring LA by hiking, playing tennis, and finding new group workout classes. Danielle is originally from Sarasota, FL and received her BBA from Emory University in 2015.

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As I reflect on my time at Anderson, I’ve realized that the last eight months have been a balancing act. First year MBAs constantly need to choose between spending time networking and preparing for interviews, meeting new people and building friendships, and actually studying. Business school has been an amazing experience, but if I’ve learned anything, it’s that time is a finite resource – time spent in one area means less time in another. Over the past few quarters, I’ve learned how to balance the amazing opportunities afforded by attending Anderson and living in LA. Here are my three tips:

(1) Prioritize in short increments, whether that’s the next week, months, or quarter

Throughout your time at Anderson, you will have different priorities and areas of focus. To ensure that you are getting a balanced experience, break down your time in business school into smaller increments. This helps you stay focused on each task at hand, while also allowing you to shift your priorities. In the Fall, recruiting for consulting was my primary goal, so I focused all of my time and energy on making sure that I could be the best candidate. Once I received my offer, I used the Winter quarter to relax and spend time socializing and traveling.

(2) Give yourself breaks and time to reflect

A quarter may seem like a long time to stay focused and dedicated, especially because emotions and energy change quickly. Throughout the process, give yourself the time and space to assess what you have already done and reflect on where you want to go. For me, being outside is imperative for my mental health, so every day, I made sure to spend time outside, whether that was going for walk or working out. These were breaks that allowed me to reflect, understand how I was feeling, and formulate a plan for action.

(3) Your Anderson classmates can support and guide you 

Remember, you aren’t reinventing the wheel; countless people have been through business school before and have been in your shoes. Use your current classmates and 2nd years as resources to support you, whether that’s through bouncing ideas off one another or by discussing how they might approach a situation you’re faced with. It’s also a great way to make a few new friends 😊.

Overall, don’t forget to ENJOY your time in business school!  From traveling to cool new places (I went to Costa Rica for Spring Break) to pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, I can honestly say that year one has been a time for exploration, growth, and fun.

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Student Blogger: Danielle Truitt '23

Undergrad: Emory University ‘15

Pre-MBA: Sales Operations & Strategy, WeWork

Leadership@Anderson:  VP of Wellness, Women’s Business Connection; VP of Education, Management Consulting Association; EDI, Anderson Ambassador Corps

Advice For Consortium’s Orientation Program

About Stanton: Stanton Fields (’23) is originally from West Orange, NJ. Prior to Anderson, he worked in financial services at PGIM Fixed Income in a variety of trade support roles supporting the investment team. In his spare time, you can find Stanton playing pickup basketball at one of LA’s many outdoor courts, working on his golf swing, or running along the water in Santa Monica. 

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As a Consortium student, you have the opportunity to network and participate in early recruiting with top employers during the annual Orientation Program (known as OP). OP typically happens in June, before your 1st year. While it may be daunting to have conversations with employers before you even start your MBA journey, below I listed some advice to make the most out of the experience:

1. Use OP as an opportunity to warm-up your networking/recruiting muscles - Don’t feel pressure to secure something right away. You are way ahead of the game. Use this time to practice your 30 second pitch and get comfortable speaking to employers. All that being said, if you see a target company/role at OP that you want, go all in for it!
2. Have a game plan - While it’s great that you have access to so many companies in one spot, it is easy to get overwhelmed. Having a list of target companies/roles will allow you to better prepare and make the most of your time during the conference. When interview prepping, always have a prepared answer for “Tell me about yourself”, “Why the company”, and “why the role”.
3. Chat with 2nd years - Many have applied to the same roles you’re interested in and can give you advice when it comes to interviews. Anderson specifically has an Anderson Consortium Buddy Program where you are paired up with a 2nd year Consortium student during the summer. This will be your go-to person as it relates to questions about OP, navigating Anderson, and everything in between. When I told my Consortium buddy that I was interviewing for PepsiCo’s Brand Marketing internship, she provided me with previous interview questions people had been asked, a framework for answering certain case questions, and even put me in contact with one of her friends that was interning there for the summer. You hear it all the time, but people are REALLY about sharing success at Anderson.
4. Make the most of it - Use each program session and company interaction as a spring. Whether you come out of OP with an offer or not, there is a lot you can learn from the experience. Gain more knowledge about companies during the informational sessions. Reflect on your interview experience and where you can improve. OP is a great learning opportunity overall.

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Student Blogger: Stanton Fields ‘23

Undergrad: Boston College ‘14

Pre-MBA: Investment Operations Analyst, PGIM Fixed Income

Leadership@Anderson: Director of Business Development – Sports Business Association, Director of Admissions Ambassador Corps