Coffee Chats with Medha Korwar

Name: Medha Korwar

Major: Business Administration

Year: 4th year

I first met Medha through an on-campus organization known as Students Consulting Non-Profit Organizations, SCNO. For those who may not know about this organization, SCNO is a team of student consultants who collaborate, develop, and present solutions to help non-profit businesses achieve their goals, whether that’s developing a better strategy in marketing, funding, organizing the board’s structure, or further developing the non-profit. At the time, Medha was my Team-Lead, meaning she and our team of Associate Consultants worked with an individual non-profit business. Since then, Medha has served as a Board Member for SCNO, and now runs the organization as the President. This week, Medha and I met up for Vietnamese coffee at BLKdot Coffee, where I asked about her experiences in consulting, advice for students who are interested in learning more about consulting, as well as her future plans.

When I asked Medha how her four-year journey in SCNO began, she recalled her initial interaction with the SCNO officer and President at the Dean’s Welcome for the Paul Merage School of Business. After a few more conversations with SCNO officers at the MUSA business fair and the UCI club fair at Aldrich Park, she took a chance and joined the team.

After working with a variety of non-profits throughout Orange County, Medha and the SCNO team have helped many of their businesses address diverse issues. I wanted to know which consulting project was the most memorable and had the greatest impact on her. As it turns out, it was the project for her very first client: The Labor of Love, a non-profit organization that assists foster children smoothly transition into adulthood and self-sustaining situations by providing necessities, such as housing, educational resources, career resources, and food.

“It was my very first project, and it was not only because of the client that I really liked, but also my team-lead. My team-lead was Tracy Lam and she’s my absolute inspiration—Goals—to say it plainly. She knew SCNO backwards and forwards and our project turned out really well and our client really enjoyed it. At the end, the client prepared these embroidered towels for us with our names on it because she was so grateful. That’s when I realized how little these non-profits expect from us. They think we are just college students, and that we can help them develop a social media strategy or something because we’re millennials, but they don’t expect the depth of data and knowledge we give them. That’s when I realized how grateful they are and how I’m making a direct impact on her and her organization.”

When I asked Medha about the recruiting process for SCNO, she mentioned that they look for candidates who show good teamwork and who take a creative approach when it comes to problem solving. The candidate should also be able to communicate well and share his or her ideas with others. For students who may be interested in consulting, getting involved in SCNO is a great way to learn how to apply business strategies to issues that businesses face. It teaches you how to organize and execute your plan of action.

Consulting has played a major role in Medha’s college experience, so it was only natural for me to ask her about her career plans for the future.

“Just yesterday, I got my start date for Deloitte. It’s going to be Sept. 10. I’m going to be working as a Business Technology Analyst and I’ll be based in Costa Mesa…so it’ll be consulting for the next couple years. After a few years, I’ll see what I want to specialize in, but consulting is a good fit for me right now.”

As a consultant for Deloitte, Medha will have to travel to the client for every project. On Monday’s she will have to fly out or drive out. On Thursday’s she will fly back or drive back. On Friday’s she will return to her local office.

Fun Questions: Learn more about Medha!

1. Who is your role model?

“In school, Tracy Lam. She was in LPN (Lamda Phi Nu); she worked in the office I work in (the full-time MBA office); she was in SCNO; she worked in the Cross-Cultural Center. She had time to mentor me and had time to hang out with friends. She was the person I looked up to in school, and as I was working towards Deloitte. At home, my parents. They’ve encouraged me with whatever I’ve done. They work so hard. In life, Sophia Bush. You know how people have girl crushes? She’s my girl crush. She’s an activist, she’s a phenomenal actress, she was in One Tree Hill. She’s so awesome as a person. ”

2. What’s your favorite television show?

“Gilmore Girls. I have watched it at least ten time through…It’s my go-to show, when I’m feeling happy, sad, whatever it is, Gilmore Girls.”

3. Do you have any pets?

“This is my favorite question. I have a bunny named Squeej…She’s a year and a half old Dutch bunny, and I’m obsessed with her. She just wants to eat all the time…Her favorite fruit is watermelon.”

4. Do you have any hidden talents?

“Some people might know this, but I’m classically trained for singing. I started when I was six years old, and I took lessons until I was in 12th grade. In my freshman year, I was a part of the fusion Bollywood acapella group.”

Though our coffee chat, I learned a lot about my housemate. Not only is she driven, intelligent, and bubbly, but she is a force to be reckoned with.