During my senior year of high school, I was lucky enough to have a clear idea of what I wanted to do for my career: consulting. It really interested me because I loved the idea of working directly with a business to guide their destined path and offer insightful advice as an outsider who has the ability to root for every company they come across.
Now, this might sound strange, but business school wasn’t what I was looking for. I knew that if I were to follow the usual college track for a career in consulting, I would end up with four years of structured classes and a boxed-in mindset on par with every other person out there graduating with a business degree. I sought a program that would not only provide the necessary business foundation but also foster creativity and problem-solving skills.
Instead, I decided to look toward Entrepreneurship.
As someone from Connecticut, I had never been to Philadelphia before…or even Pennsylvania. When I googled “Best Entrepreneurship School on the East Coast” the Close School came up!
Navigating a Non-Traditional Internship: The Co-op Program
The first thing that drew me to Drexel University was the co-op program. Getting the opportunity to take a break from classes and instead learn through a guaranteed real-world internship sounded almost too good to be true. And after having done it, I’m shocked more Universities don’t offer programs like this.
I am on the four-year BA track which means that I had one co-op period. I spent my co-op working with PECO on their Project Management team.
Now, you might be thinking, “Lyla, I thought you wanted to go into consulting? Why would you not use your one opportunity to intern at a consulting firm?”
The truth is, the co-op timeline and a consulting internship weren’t matching up. At the time, I really felt like I had missed out on valuable experience because of this.
But honestly, that’s just how life goes. Not everything ends up aligning perfectly, and sometimes things turn out differently than you expected. Looking back on it, I am extremely thankful for my co-op experience and everything that it taught me.
While I had initially hoped for a consulting internship, the timing didn’t work out. But honestly, that’s just how life goes sometimes. Not everything ends up aligning perfectly with the plan you had laid out and unexpected obstacles (or hidden opportunities) always rise up. However, I’ve come to appreciate the value of my PECO experience. Project management aligned well with my consulting interests, and I gained valuable skills in leadership, problem-solving, and process improvement.
I learned a lot while working with PECO, and even got to branch outside of the PM scope. I saw an opportunity to implement new technologies to elevate their processing. In the end, everyone was really happy with the work I did for them, which gave me a newfound sense of confidence as someone in the workforce.
I believe that internships are essential for college graduates. They provide opportunities to build connections, gain practical experience, and develop confidence. My advice to students (which you may have heard the opposite of before) is to diversify their work experience! Not only does it make your resume more impressive, but it also helps you discover your interests and strengths. It might even introduce you to a whole new field you never considered before.
Beyond the Classroom: Learning Leadership and Collaboration
Sophomore year I took a consulting class with Professor Ozlem Ogutveren-Gonul. We had to do a mock project for a real company. This class highlighted leadership and the interpersonal side of business. Again, I was taught that life doesn’t always go the way you planned. Through this experience, I became interested in organizational development and ended up switching over to the human resources side of consulting.
After that, I got involved with Drexel’s Consulting Group. At the time, it wasn’t a very large club having just revived after COVID. But everyone involved had so much passion which has allowed us to expand our board and start hosting more events. I made my way up in the ranks and was VP of marketing last fall, Vice president in the spring, and now one of the co-presidents.
One of the opportunities we have is called “Consulting 101”. The purpose is to teach our members the basics of consulting. Topics cover anything from recruitment timelines to casing practicing.
Another event we like to host is by reaching out to companies and getting them to come in and chat with the club members and other interested students. Those can range from networking events to resume reviews, or even just hearing all the valuable knowledge that the company has to share.
A newer thing we’ve implemented is through Baiada where a company can apply for our services then we conduct a consulting project for them, giving everyone a part of the team hands-on experience in a beneficial environment.
During my last few months with the club, I want to work at breaking the idea that consulting is just for business majors. This is a valuable skill that would benefit someone in any field, if not just for the appreciative experience of having learned about it. We also hope to put together the first Philadelphia-wide case competition to bring together all of the local schools’ consulting clubs. This is just one of the many big things we’ve been brainstorming. Drexel has been a huge support system for all of our ideas.
Learning By Doing
Experiences are invaluable in ways that traditional classroom learning often cannot replicate. I chose the Close School of Entrepreneurship to avoid being told exactly how to think in a regular business class, but I ended up finding so much more at Drexel.
In each one of my classes, I have been encouraged to think outside of the box, embrace failure, and nurture my own individualism. Every teacher I meet is eager to help, and all the students in classes alongside me are inspirations of their own passion and work ethic. No matter where your journey is going to take you in life, put yourself into an environment that is going to encourage you to get out there and do something!
