Name: Kimi Chau
Year: Sophomore
Major: Economics
Minor: Political Science & Business Institutions
CFS Class: Business Field Studies
Employer: Deloitte Consulting

This past winter, I had the opportunity to spend three months interning at Deloitte Consulting. I worked on a project that seeks to build a new online financial statements consolidation system for a Fortune 500 real estate firm. I was involved in mainly data cleansing, drawing up financial statements, and providing training to clients. It was a challenging because the project involves many technical and financial side of things – there were many new concepts I had to take in. However, I had the fortune to be working in-person as I was interning in Shanghai. It was convenient to be able to ask the associates questions who sit just across the table or to be working in teams with the others interns. Working in-person was also valuable for me because I got to learn about the workplace culture and interact with my colleagues on a daily basis.

The CFS class was a great complement to my internship experience. It was especially striking when we started thinking about business, purpose, and society. I realized that it was crucial to think about the impact of the work we are doing, and if it is creating long-term values, rather than merely generating profit. After discussing with my peers in class, I started to really appreciate the consulting industry because we are making a tangible, positive impact to our client. We help improving their business by making the system more efficient and minimizing costs. The class was certainly a great addition to my internship – it offered a great opportunity to engage in thoughtful conversations and connect with my peers.