Months of hard work and collaboration led to the day of spring final presentations on April 27 for the Mason Consulting Group (MCG) at George Mason University.
Mason Consulting Group team of consultants share their final presentation. Photo courtesy of Mason Consulting Group.
Consisting of student consultants from the Costello College of Business and across the university, the teams presented their final analyses and recommendations to the client leadership teams in attendance, with an opportunity for questions and feedback. Also in attendance were representatives from Fairfax City Economic Development, which funds the initiative, and members of the Costello and George Mason leadership teams.
“Being able to work with them on actual client engagements and seeing their effort translate to real-world success has been truly meaningful.”
— Iman Chaudhry, Mason Consulting Group president
Student consultants applied their skills in support of local businesses, while members of the Mason Consulting Group executive board gained valuable experience managing client relationships and mentoring their classmates, “Being able to work with them on actual client engagements and seeing their effort translate to real-world success has been truly meaningful,” says Iman Chaudhry, Mason Consulting Group president.
Through these engagements, students gained hands-on business experience beyond the classroom—providing strategic guidance to local organizations while strengthening their own client-facing and professional skills.
At the beginning of the semester, the Mason Consulting Group executive board reviewed 68 applications from students seeking consultant roles. Top candidates who advanced past the interview phase were placed on teams paired with one of three clients—Nova Labs, DPI Adaptive Fitness, and Omni Wellness—for the semester. Clients were also selected through an application process. Each team had six or seven student consultants.
Nova Labs, a nonprofit makerspace supporting entrepreneurs, hobbyists, and youth through access to tools and collaborative space, aimed to diversify its revenue streams and build sustainable programs infrastructure to support expansion.
DPI Adaptive Fitness, an adaptive fitness organization that provides training for individuals with physical disabilities through innovative, rehab-informed programming, wanted to scale its operations through improved digital infrastructure and pricing strategy.
The third client, Omni Wellness, is a performance and recovery studio offering physical therapy, mobility training, and wellness services. They sought to expand into the student and student-athlete market through tailored pricing and targeted outreach.
Each organization offered a different opportunity, allowing students to align their skills and interests where they could make the greatest impact.
Before the student consultants began their client-facing work, they were provided with educational training events by Mason Consulting Group. Throughout the entire process, the executive team communicated closely with both the clients and their consultants. “We’re really, really hands-on with everybody,” says Neha Bandaru, Mason Consulting Group projects manager. “We’re constantly communicating. A big part of this semester was our Discord channel, where we were able to communicate with consulting teams constantly.”
Because executive team members are also students—many of them former consulting interns—they had a deep understanding of the experience, making consultants more receptive to peer feedback and guidance.
Mason Consulting Group (executive board and senior advisors in first row, consultants in back two rows). Photo courtesy of Mason Consulting Group.
The Mason Consulting Group takes Costello students outside of the classroom for a glimpse into their future careers, strengthening their skills and confidence along the way.