Mason Pan interned with Accenture during the summer of 2006. After graduating from Northwestern University with degrees in Industrial Engineering and Economics, Mason joined Accenture full-time as a Consulting Analyst. As a college student, I knew I was interested in consulting—but I wanted to better understand what type of work consulting really entailed. I choose an internship with Accenture, because they assign their interns to actual consulting projects. During my internship, I was staffed on a project to create a next generation video conferencing/collaboration solution for Accenture's Executive Leadership Team. The project team was focused on creating innovative solutions to allow the leadership team members to collaborate more effectively, as well as obtaining protectable intellectual property and showcasing Accenture as an innovator in video conferencing technologies to our clients and the media. My specific tasks included requirements gathering, subject interviews, prototype development and ultimately the creation of an official budget proposal for Accenture’s Chief Technology Officer. These responsibilities are similar to those of an entry-level consulting analyst, so I really felt I gained insight into the day to day life of a consultant. Over one weekend, I attended the Student Leadership Conference at Accenture’s training facility in St. Charles, IL along with the other summer interns from across the country. The conference provided an opportunity for me to develop my leadership and professional skills, and also have a lot of fun getting to know the other interns. It was a great way to begin building my Accenture network and get a glimpse at Accenture’s culture and people. We also had several events organized for the Chicago interns, including a trip to Second City, some friendly competition at whirlyball and bowling, and Chicago architecture boat tour, among other things. These events helped show me that while Accenture people work hard on their project work, they do take the time to have fun and celebrate their success. After my internship, I was extended an offer for full-time employment as a consulting analyst. My internship played a key role in deciding to accept this offer. Not only did it help me better understand consulting, but I found that the culture was one I was looking for. I joined Accenture in July 2007 and am currently staffed on a local project in downtown Chicago right now, implementing PeopleSoft solutions for a large insurance company.