One of the key mission elements of BEACON is the focus on providing experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students of the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business. By working on projects with clients spanning the public, private and non-profit sectors, students gain valuable insights into how different industries function on a day-to-day basis. They get to expand upon their project management skills and work directly with clients to determine the scope of work for a project, develop project timelines and milestones, understand and manage client expectations, and prepare project deliverables. Students are able to do all these while simultaneously developing their own leadership skills, managing a team of peers, and practicing task and responsibility delegation. BEACON also helps students build and manage their professional networks through working with a variety of clients, attending industry and corporate events, and joining a number of professional organizations.
As previous BEACONites, some of our most valuable lessons learned while working with BEACON have included the ability to manage client expectations and unexpected project pivots. Throughout our education, we read about the theories and best practices for accomplishing these. However, experiencing them firsthand in a corporate setting is invaluable. Learning how to communicate project successes, as well as project challenges, directly to our clients has helped us grow as young professionals. It has been a tremendous opportunity to work for BEACON, and the lessons learned will be carried with us for our entire careers, far beyond our time with the University.
Sincerely, |
