Insights into the Professional Realm: Yates

A smile spread across my face as I read that I had been accepted into the Foster Consulting Program. Ever since I had joined Net Impact in the fall, I had been wanting to apply to this program in order to not only learn about, but to experience working as a consultant. However, I felt nervous. I didn’t quite know what to expect and had no prior business academic education—I was still working on completing my general education requirements!

Fortunately, I had an excellent team and plenty of resources to help me succeed. At the start of our first meeting, our project manager (shout out to Noah Spitz!) did a great job of introducing himself and our team’s advisers, and ultimately made me feel like I belonged on the team. Whenever I hit a roadblock in my research or had difficulty making recommendations, I knew I would always have resources to fall back on throughout the process.

Because of this experience, I became increasingly comfortable when reaching out to others—be it my advisers, project manager, or other consultants—and developed more confidence in a professional atmosphere, despite the virtual format. Additionally, I learned far more about consulting than I ever could in a classroom. The experiences of performing a SWOT analysis as well as researching and recommending marketing strategies were all topics I would have otherwise never had the chance to engage with.

I took much away from this involvement and am grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a program. As my work comes to a close, I recognize that this experience offered me the opportunity to not only develop myself in a professional context, but to help out a business in need. After feeling like I truly helped make a difference in the local Seattle community, I am once again excited to apply to the Foster Consulting Program next quarter.

– Noah Rizika, Freshman, 2024