Luke Wilcox
"I wanted to transition into management consulting and needed a program that would help me build my consulting skills through real-world experience. Carlson was the perfect fit."
My Story
Prior to coming to Carlson I worked in the nonprofit world, raising money for good causes and helping to start an organization focused on the relationship between the US and the Middle East. Business school was a pretty dramatic 180 degree turn for me, but I knew that I enjoyed the management side of the organization I helped start and that I wanted to transition out of the nonprofit world, at least for a while.
Why Carlson?
I looked at 4-5 business schools and decided on Carlson for a few reasons. I wanted to get into management consulting and talked to a few Carlson students who had interned at consulting firms. Their success in getting internships and full-time jobs confirmed that Carlson would provide a similar opportunity for me. I also wanted to go to a small school. With about 115 fellow second-years, I know all of my classmates and feel a strong sense of community with them. Finally, the flip side of a small school at a large university is that I’m able to pursue diverse interests; I can go from a corporate finance class at Carlson across campus to brush up on Arabic in the university’s language department. Both Carlson and the University of Minnesota offer diverse, very high caliber academic opportunities.
Interning at McKinsey
Last summer I interned at consulting firm McKinsey & Company. It was a fantastic learning and growing experience for me, working on two client projects with amazing colleagues. I felt well-prepared thanks to consulting projects during the first year at Carlson and am excited to go back after graduation.