About Tara: Tara Kezic (’24) grew up in San Diego before heading off to Texas to get her degrees in Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from Southern Methodist University. After graduation, she made a hard pivot and became a consultant at EY-Parthenon where she focused on doing growth strategy assessments for consumer retail companies. She loves working at EY-Parthenon so much, she’s already committed to returning after graduation! In her free time, Tara enjoys traveling, watching tennis, and trying new restaurants.

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Wow, what a year! Feels like just yesterday that I packed up my life and moved to LA to start at Anderson. It’s been an incredible experience so far – I have met some amazing people, taken extremely interesting classes, and scored my summer internship in consulting. Now that spring quarter is upon me, I’m starting to feel the simultaneous excitement and anxiety of starting my internship in a new city in an office of all new people. But there are a few things I’m doing to prepare for everything and (hopefully) set myself up for a successful summer:

1. Keeping up with my network in the firm

We all spend our fall and winter quarters meeting people at our favorite consulting firms by scheduling coffee chats, attending presentations, and visiting offices. Through all this, we get to meet some great people who will be our future coworkers, and who we can continue to keep up with as we prepare for our internships! I’ve worked hard to not let these connections fade just because I’ve signed my offer, continuing to get coffee with them and messaging back and forth as I prepare to join them.

2. Leaning on my classmates who will be interning with me

I’m lucky enough to have a group of 8(!) fellow classmates interning with me this summer which means I have a built-in support network I can leverage as we go through it all. Currently, we are discussing potential start dates, the types of projects we want to do, and how often we plan to go into the office. It’s been an early bonding experience and I feel it will better prepare us as we navigate through 8 weeks in the office together.

3. Learning the “lay of the land”

As a consultant, there is no day-to-day I can lean on when working so it’s all about learning the little things for what to expect. I’m mentally prepared for either consulting scenarios of staying at home and working remotely or traveling every day –  as both are just as likely to happen. I’m already looking at what traffic looks like to get to and from the office on a Friday and arranging for some carpooling to pass the time. Mostly, I’m excited to try something new and have a unique intern experience.

4. Getting ready to have a great time!

Internships are meant to be fun – it’s all about getting to know the people and office culture to make the best decision as to whether you want to return. I can’t wait to attend office events, trainings, and of course happy hours. My major goal is to form great relationships with new people that I can have for years to come!

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Student Blogger: Tara Kezic ‘24

Undergrad: Southern Methodist University (’17) – B.S. Electrical Engineering, B.S. Applied Mathematics

Pre-MBA: Management Consulting, EY-Parthenon

Leadership@Anderson: VP of Social, Anderson Student Association; VP of Prospective Student Affairs, Admission Ambassador Corps; VP of Community, WBC; EVP, Wine Club

Instagram: @tarakezic