Grow With Grant Thornton Summer Leadership Program
In June of 2017, I was selected to attend the Grow with Grant Thornton Summer Leadership Program. This office visit and three-day conference helped me become a better leader and team member, and broaden my knowledge about the firm and their services. At our visit in the Philadelphia office, myself and the other students were able to learn about the culture of GT, reverse interview with a senior associate or manager, and gain insights into our service line of choice.
To me, one of the best things about GT as a firm is their culture. It is clearly very important to all of their employees, as it is emphasized at many events. Their CLEARRly1 model gives a uniformed set of goals for their employees to strive for, and it has certainly worked. Each employee I interacted with at Grant Thornton exemplified their values and could not have been more welcoming or kind. At our Philadelphia office visit, we participated in activities that showcased this culture, and this experience only made me love the firm more.
Later in the summer, all of the Grow with Grant Thornton participants from the eastern region came together in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a three-day immersion into Grant Thornton. Here, we continued to learn about the culture and selected service line; I plan to go into the advisory service. Additionally, we were put into teams to compete in a case study competition. Each team was given the task of selecting a Russell 2000 company, and pitching this client to a panel or managers and partners. We were to explain what about this company would make it a great fit as a GT client, and why the company should want to work with us. My team selected Neenah Paper manufactures. Our presentation explained how Neenah was a growing company with much potential, what GT could offer the client, how GT was very experienced with manufacturing, and that our company cultures matched up well. Because of all of these reasons, we believed Neenah would be a great, dynamic client for Grant Thornton. I was very proud of our final presentation. Below is a picture of our team with our visuals from our pitch.
This conference has shown me than I am on the right career path. I am interesting in going into the Risk Advisory or Business Consulting and Technology practice of their Advisory service line. I would definitely love to work with Grant Thornton more in my future, but even if that is not possible, this firm has shown me what kind of work I should be doing long term, which I am grateful for.
