Lanesha is an MBA2 specializing in digital strategy and marketing. Prior to Stern, she worked within Accenture’s federal practice as a technology consulting analyst, helping different government agencies implement and maintain technology systems. At Stern, she serves as the VP of Treks for the Association of Hispanic and Black Business Students. Lanesha graduated from Howard University in 2015 with a B.B.A. in Supply Chain Management.
NYU Stern’s “Summer Internship Series” sheds lights into Sternies’ internships. Posts are written by rising MBA2s who are currently working at their summer internship.
This summer I’m interning at Kalypso, a boutique consulting firm that specializes in digital projects. I had a unique recruiting experience; I recruited at the Consortium conference last summer and received a couple of offers before starting school. Prior to signing for my internship, I made it crystal clear what type of work I did and did not want to do. Pre-Stern I worked for Accenture in their federal practice as a software implementation analyst. My roles were very tech-heavy and I was intent on trying something different for my internship. I expressed to the recruiter that I wanted to work on a strategy focused project within the retail sector and they delivered exactly what I asked for.
My client for the summer is a 60-billion-dollar department store and we are helping them launch their digital product creation program. Instead of having physical clothing samples that are shipped around the world, everything will be created digitally. It’s actually pretty cool to see a designer’s sketch of a hoodie turned into a 3D creation that looks realistic.
The hardest part of my summer has been to integrate with teams that I haven’t met in person. My team is close knit and they have built strong relationships with our clients. It took me a little bit of time to figure out how to best communicate with my team and what unspoken standards existed for deliverables. I looked at these obstacles as a learning opportunity. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to speak up when I was confused, set up virtual one-on-ones to ask questions, and attend zoom happy hours to network with my colleagues.
I’ve been given several different parts of our project to own and have had considerable face to face time with our clients. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the amount of trust my team has in me to execute different tasks – I feel like a full-time employee on our team. I’ve also been able to be involved in different internal initiatives such as the launch of a new Employee Resource Group and the creation of a recruiting strategy for diverse candidates.
Working remotely was not the vision I had for my summer, but I consider myself blessed to have still had a full 12-week internship experience. Since I am at home all day long, I’ve had to develop new routines to keep myself focused such as having a dedicated workout schedule, an organized workspace, and a planned-out to-do list for the day. Although I was looking forward to traveling this summer and racking up the loyalty points, working virtually gives me a glimpse into potential post-COVID changes in the consulting industry. I think the future consultant lifestyle will still include a significant amount of travel, but there will definitely be more opportunities to work virtually.
I am excited to get back to Stern this fall and hear about the experiences my classmates have had at other consulting firms. This summer is not what we were expecting, but I know my fellow Sternies have done their best to make lemonade out of lemons. This summer has given me more perspective as to what I want to do post-MBA and I plan to spend my last year at Stern taking advantage of every opportunity that comes my way.