Carlson MBA Student Blazes the Trail at Bain

Thanks to the skills and knowledge she cultivated through the Carlson MBA Program, Sara Moret began a coveted internship at Bain & Co. well-prepared to solve the unwieldy problems consultants face. 

Despite lacking career experience in the field, her MBA education stood apart from that of her peers. At her initial training for the 10-week engagement, Moret worked through the “consulting toolkit” alongside students from elite business schools around the world.

“These students came from fantastic business schools, but many had not seen these tools. Having worked with the consulting toolkit in the Carlson Consulting Enterprise prior to my internship set me up for success,” she says.

Given her performance throughout the internship, Bain & Co. offered Moret a full-time position with the firm, where she will begin working after graduating.  

“I got the job that I came on campus for, and there’s not a moment that goes by that I’m not incredibly grateful for that,” she says.   

From client to consultant

Moret, ’16 MBA, first envisioned herself as a consultant when she served as a client for the Carlson Consulting Enterprise—a one-of-a-kind program in which Carlson MBA students assess, break down, and solve real business challenges for premiere client organizations.

“I was working in a strategy role at Thrivent Financial, and experienced the value of the Enterprise projects from the client perspective. I got to see my future self sitting across the table grappling with these hard issues, and I was so impressed,” she says.

In the months that followed, Moret began to imagine her ideal career trajectory. And her mind turned back to those students who had offered an insightful perspective on the business challenges she faced in her role.

“I really stated focusing on what I was passionate about, what things kept me working until six o clock at night without realizing the day had gone by,” she says. “It became obvious that strategic problem solving really excited me.”

A new career direction

Moret met with students and alumni, and realized the Carlson School offered a variety of opportunities to get hands-on consulting experience, as well as improve her leadership acumen.

She soon made the leap from client to MBA student. The experience she’s gotten through the Carlson Consulting Enterprise has been invaluable as she moves into her dream career.

“The Enterprise was a very safe place to learn and fail,” she says. “I got to wrestle with how I tackle big ambiguous challenges, and I really got to be thoughtful about how I work with clients. Because of that, I went into my summer at Bain having done a lot of this stuff before.”