Alyssa Lane is a Class of 2026 student from Dallas, Texas. In addition to the Canfield Business Honors Program, Alyssa also majors in Finance and minors in Global Sustainability Leadership. This summer, Alyssa interned in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) global headquarters. Specifically, Alyssa was a part of the Growing Future Leaders (GFL) program, a BCG initiative aiming to grow and support top talents from groups currently underrepresented in consulting. In this role, she experienced firsthand what consulting work and lifestyle are like while fostering a deeper bond with her GFL cohort.
Still unsure of the specific niche industry she wants to focus on, Alyssa found consulting to be a perfect career path, as it could expose her to various fields and types of work. Alyssa is excited by the high intellectual stimulation of consulting, as she gets to work on new problems and take on new daily tasks. Alyssa also has multiple different motivations for choosing BCG specifically. In addition to offering great opportunities to sophomore students like herself, BCG also brings together people from various backgrounds of expertise, culminating in diverse teamwork environments that Alyssa greatly enjoys. In fact, Alyssa observed over her summer that most of her peers at the firm were not business majors but instead pursued a wide range of STEM or humanities studies. Additionally, as an individual caring deeply about environmental issues, Alyssa is drawn toward BCG’s heavy emphasis on sustainability.
Over the summer, Alyssa worked in the Principal Investors & Private Equity (PIPE) industry area, which works with the world’s largest investment firms to seize investment opportunities in a rapidly changing world. As PIPE is extremely fast-paced, Alyssa worked across three projects, gaining wide exposure to different expertise, team dynamics, and management styles. For instance, while some managers prioritize team bonding opportunities like group dinners to boost morale, others ensure everyone can schedule out-of-office time blocks in their work day for personal activities. As a result, Alyssa learned many hard and soft skills from the people she interacted with throughout her internship.
In terms of her day-to-day, Alyssa works five days a week, typically beginning with a team-wide check-in meeting at 9:00 AM. Afterward, Alyssa heads into her individual work, which ranges from perspective-gaining expert calls to PPT and Excel work. As her work products are highly data-driven, Alyssa needs to interpret the numbers correctly and present them well. As she works into the evening, the team has another check-in around 6:30 PM. Such frequent updates ensure project leaders can efficiently manage everyone’s progress. Then, Alyssa ends her day around 10:00 PM after spending some more time on her individual tasks.
Her internship has taught Alyssa a lot about the expectations of a consultant and what it takes to be successful. While she had long and packed work days, the exciting nature of consulting work motivated Alyssa to stay engaged in her role. Alyssa also gained familiarity with the steep learning curve in consulting, which demands her to pick up new knowledge quickly as she examines how many fundamental textbook concepts apply in real life. Additionally, Alyssa learned that she would rather over-communicate than under-communicate. Due to the short time frame of projects, it is essential to set clear expectations of work progress. Another crucial lesson she learned is the importance of asking for help. Once finding the people with whom she was comfortable reaching out for help, Alyssa realized that she could learn and accomplish anything.
For Alyssa, the key highlight of her summer has been the extensive amount of personal and professional growth. At the beginning of the summer, she experienced imposter syndrome, which made it more difficult for her to open up and reach out. After pushing herself out of her comfort zone, Alyssa could now get the necessary support she needs to excel in consulting. Alyssa is also proud of the improvement in her technical skills, which she developed with daily practice. A testament to her technical expertise occurred when a slide that she made was approved by upper management with no change made, and then selected as one of the few slides to be used in an important client-facing presentation.
Alyssa’s time in Canfield BHP has supported her in numerous ways for her summer at BCG. As many people in her cohort are going through similar recruitment experiences, Alyssa’s peers can understand and talk to her candidly. In terms of the alumni network, the wide reach of the Canfield BHP community offered Alyssa numerous opportunities to reach out to and connect with program graduates who currently work at BCG. Finally, the program staff has also been incredibly supportive, going beyond her professional and academic endeavors.
Alyssa is also actively involved with the Canfield BHP community and office, to stay up-to-date on events and opportunities check us out on social media or watch your email for communications from the Canfield BHP office.