Summer Internship Spotlight: Umang Arora, (MBA’22): Ernst & Young

Each year, our students spend their summers in Washington, D.C., across the nation, and around the world working in corporate, nonprofit, and government organizations. Meet a few of our graduate and undergraduate students in our 2021 Summer Internship Spotlight series.

Umang Arora, (MBA’22)

MBA Intern, Ernst & Young

Tell us about your summer.

This summer, I worked with Ernst & Young (EY) in their Business Transformation practice out of their New York City office. I got the opportunity to work on a project to launch a new business model for one of the largest fast-food restaurant chains in the US. I was among the only few EY MBA interns across the US to work in person throughout the summer. I was flying to the client location every week and got the opportunity to work with the senior leadership team from EY and the client on a daily basis.

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship experience. Coming from a non-consulting background, it was difficult for me to transition immediately, but EY provided adequate mentorship and growth opportunities to explore, learn, and succeed. During the summer, I got the opportunity to learn while working directly with several business functions such as finance, marketing, and technology. I was able to work with the senior client leadership regularly to learn and contribute.

How did your internship relate to your professional or personal interests?

One of my key motivations behind pursuing an MBA was to make a career switch to a new industry, function, and the country altogether. I want to pursue a consulting career in the U.S. full-time and this internship gave me the opportunity to experience this industry before making the big transition full-time.

What’s the most interesting or impactful thing you did or worked on?

During my internship, I worked with a team to create a business proposal to increase the digital sales of one of the biggest Telecommunications companies in Latin America from 5% to 40% in 2 years. It was heartening to see how EY was able to work with such a big firm and create a thorough implementation proposal in such a short amount of time.

Was your internship adjusted because of COVID-19? 

Most of the internships were remote this summer but I got the opportunity to join the team in person. I flew every week to work with the client from their global headquarters.

What did a typical day look like?

A typical day for a consulting intern started with an internal standup call that served as a checkpoint for the engagement. This was usually followed by a meeting with our counterparts from the client-side. After that, most of my time was spent preparing client deliverables and working on other EY initiatives. I also spent significant time networking outside my project to learn more about the EY teams and the impactful work that they were doing. 

Any advice for other students?

Please keep networking throughout your internship to understand more about the firm and the kind of amazing work your firm is doing. At the end of the summer internship, you should have a clear understanding of your compatibility with the firm considering your future aspirations.