The Lehigh Consulting Group will host a summit Saturday, Sept. 23 in Rauch Business Center. The goal of the summit is to introduce more students to the consulting field and the group itself.
Since its founding in 2013, the Lehigh Consulting Group has worked with students to provide them with the tools and connections to eventually compete for positions in the consulting industry. The group decided to focus on expanding its outreach after solidifying a new executive board last spring.
“Our vision for the organization was to reach out to students who typically would not come to a consulting club,” said Akhil Patil, ’18, the group’s director of operations.
Patil said the Lehigh Consulting Group aims to inform people that consulting is not only for students who are in the College of Business and Economics, but that it is also a great opportunity for students in the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences.
Josh Blatt, ’18, the group’s president, said to begin the process of expanding their organization, the members reached out to other consulting groups at schools around the country for inspiration. This gave the group the idea to host a consulting summit.
“I really wanted to expand the network of companies that come to Lehigh,” Blatt said. “There are a lot of other things out there, and we wanted to explore the definition of what consulting is.”
Although representatives from large firms like Ernst & Young, Deloitte, IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers will be present, the summit will also feature a panel consisting of several entrepreneurial consultants who will provide students with information about alternative options.
This panel serves as a way for the Lehigh Consulting Group to inform students about committing to large consulting firms. The group hopes to raise awareness for the opportunities available to students through smaller independent businesses.
Alongside two panels, the summit will also feature group information sessions with both IBM and PwC, networking opportunities with all the firms and keynote speaker Jennifer Mann, ’91. Mann is a former Democratic member of the House of Representatives and a current consulting firm owner.
The Lehigh Consulting Group is hoping to make the summit an annual event that can eventually incorporate more networking and skill-building opportunities for students. Though registration for this year’s summit has already closed, students can still get involved with the group.
During the fall semester, the Lehigh Consulting Group plans interview workshops and networking sessions for students seeking to hone their consulting skills and make valuable connections with companies that could potentially employ them in the future.
They also work with the Small Business Development Center to pair teams of students with entrepreneurial businesses and organize consulting work with various departments on campus.
In the spring, students participate in case competitions, where they are given business scenarios and have the opportunity to present their solutions to PwC representatives at the company’s main offices in New York.
Joseph Freeman, ’18, the vice president of the Lehigh Consulting Group, said he used the opportunities provided by the group to connect with potential employers, build his basic knowledge and determine his career path.
“Consulting gives me the opportunity to try out different industries,” Freeman said. “I like the challenge associated with having to learn everything there is to know about a new business.
Many of the executive board members said they have landed internships as a result of the connections they made through the Lehigh Consulting Group. Blatt, who worked for Deloitte this summer, said the challenge of constantly solving new problems is what makes consulting interesting.
“Consulting can be what you want it to be,” Freeman said. “There is a way for someone with any sort of interest to get involved.”
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