Hi everyone! My name is Dan Orleans and I am a rising 2nd year at UCLA Anderson. I grew up in Boca Raton, FL (No, I did not live in a retirement community) and for undergrad, I attended the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!) where I majored in economics. After graduation, I joined Morgan Stanley in their Wealth Management rotational analyst program in New York City where I rotated through private banking strategy, investment research, and private wealth management. After the 2-year program, I joined a Private Wealth Management team to help ultra-high net worth clients meet their financial goals and needs. I ultimately decided to come to Anderson for UCLA’s strong consulting program, the opportunity to be in a big city made it a lot easier for my wife to move along with me, and the weather of course (I didn’t appreciate warm weather until I spent 4 years in Michigan and 4 years in NY). Through the help of Parker Career Management Center and UCLA’s strong alumni base, I was able to land an internship at EY-Parthenon in their M&A strategy practice.

6:30 am: Morning Run. On days when I’m feeling especially motivated, I get out of bed early and go run with my dog. I always find the morning to be the best time to work out and get your day started on a good note. It is also perfect for my dog, because it isn’t too hot and the heat in LA can be a lot for her dark coat.

7:30 am: Breakfast and emails. I take this time to see if there were any emails that were sent out late last night or first thing in the morning. On my projects this summer, I worked with colleagues from across the country, so work hours varied due to time zones and individuals’ new COVID routines. After this I would set up at my desk (decked out in EY gear) to get ready to start the day with the first call usually occurring at 9am PST.

11:00 am: Daily Team Checkpoint. My team daily checkpoint at 11am is to discuss any important items from yesterday, objectives for the day, and important upcoming milestones. Things move rather quickly, so it is important to be flexible and adjust quickly as plans change. In this meeting, the managers pass down partner feedback and drive alignment for our team to deliver value to our clients.

2:00pm: Case Competition Team Meeting. For the summer, there is a case competition among the MBA interns. My team is made up of 8 fellow interns across the country and we are working on creating a pitch for a Potential Project. We generally meet a few times a week and split up the work. (Post-internship note: We eventually presented our pitch to a few partners who were playing the role of the client team and judged the competition. Check out the picture below of my team after we finished our final presentation!)

4:00 pm: Client engagements. For one of my projects, we are working for an international client and because of this most of the client calls occur from 4pm – 7pm. During these calls we discuss any material that we have put together for the client. Based on these conversations, we will gather any notes/feedback and regroup with our smaller team.

7:00pm: Wind down (Typically). The typical day ends around 7:00 of formal meetings, but based on deliverables and client needs there were plenty of nights where I would be working past this. This work would come in waves and you can finalize this work around dinner or after a workout class depending on what your evening looks like.

10:00pm: Shut off the computer. Finalized everything and send out any appropriate emails and last but not least, wind down with some 24 (Jack Bauer is my hero!) or audible books and eventually head to bed around 11:00/11:30.

Navigating a virtual internship was an interesting experience, but all the online classes, group meetings, and virtual presentations prepared us well to be able to be successful in this virtual environment.

ABOUT DAN

• Hometown: Boca Raton, FL
• Undergraduate Studies: Economics – University of Michigan
• Pre-Anderson: Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management
• MBA Summer Internship: EY-Parthenon Summer Consultant
• Post-MBA Goals: Consulting/Strategy
• Leadership@Anderson:VP of Admit Weekends, Management Consulting Association – VP of External Affairs, Basketball Club at Anderson, – Executive Vice President, Teaching Assistant – Principles of Accounting
• Activities@Anderson: Social Impact Consulting Corps, Strategy & Operations Management Association, Investment Finance Association, Jewish Business Students Association, John Anderson Golf Club, Anderson Craft Beer Club