Name: The Beacon Fellowship: Business Consulting Abroad
Brand: The Beacon Fellowship: Business Consulting Abroad
SKU: 48099
Rating: 9.75 (12 reviews)


<h3>What inspired you to go abroad?&nbsp;</h3><p>The love of learning and the appreciation of a global economy are what motivated me to go abroad! I also believe that the most effective way to learn about oneself is through experiencing other people and places. Learning to appreciate diversity and discovering how your unique gifts can be used to help others is just one of the amazing benefits of traveling abroad.&nbsp;</p><figure class="awesome-image centered" style=""><img style="" src="https://www.goabroad.com/images/interviews/interviewphoto1-flo-1496300512.png" alt="Tourists at Bolsa de Madrid"><figcaption class="caption">Bolsa de Madrid</figcaption></figure><h3>Why did you choose Beacon Fellowship for Business?</h3><p>I committed to Beacon due to the recommendation of a close friend. She emphasized that the program was designed for high character individuals, and she knew the fellowship director personally. Despite the innumerable fellowships to choose from, I chose Beacon because I believe the success of a program is often determined by the character of the participants. Trusting my friend was a great decision, because the other fellows contributed as much, if not more, to the entire experience as did the professional exposure.&nbsp;</p><h3>What was your favorite part about Madrid?</h3><p>My favorite part about Madrid was how quickly you can escape from the crowds. The residential areas are incredibly charming and offer a very authentic experience! I recommend signing up with Show Around to meet a friendly local and explore the less explored parts of town!</p><h3>What made your experience abroad unique?</h3><p>I really enjoyed getting to know a local graduate student. Interacting with him allowed for me to gain insight into how the Spanish think--both about themselves and about Americans. Gaining this unofficial perspective was very valuable and complemented the professional perspective, which I received through the fellowship.</p><figure class="awesome-image centered" style=""><img style="" src="https://www.goabroad.com/images/interviews/interviewphoto2-flo-1496300570.png" alt="Museo de la Catedral de la Almudena in Madrid, Spain"><figcaption class="caption">View from the balcony of the Museo de la Catedral de la Almudena</figcaption></figure><h3>How did local staff support you throughout your program?</h3><p>The local staff arranged housing, some meals, cultural submersion activities, and set up meetings with local professionals. We met every day for breakfast, which was a great opportunity to share experiences, plan for the day, and learn more about one another. The staff did a phenomenal job at making sure that all the fellows bonded. Learning each fellow&rsquo;s unique interests opened doors for new adventures, which I certainly would not have sought out on my own!&nbsp;</p><h3>What's one thing you wish you would have done differently?</h3><p>I wish I would have done something that one of the other fellows mentioned she always does before exploring a new city&mdash;read about the significant authors, artists, scientists, and politicians from that city. This would have laid a better foundation for the character and history of the city, and allowed me to appreciate more of the city&rsquo;s culture.&nbsp;</p><h3>Describe a typical day in the life of your program.</h3><p>All the fellows start a typical day by sharing breakfast together. During this time, fellows share experiences, recommend activities for the day, and get to know one another. After breakfast, the fellows either take off for work or to explore the city. On certain days, all the fellows enjoy a cultural immersion activity for part of the day. Fellows typically do some city exploring after work, since dinner doesn&rsquo;t start until around 9 p.m. After exploring a new part of town, someone usually looks up a good local place for dinner. Drinks or bed follow shortly after.&nbsp;</p><figure class="awesome-image centered" style=""><img style="" src="https://www.goabroad.com/images/interviews/interviewphoto3-flo-1496300591.png" alt="View from the top of the Chamber of Commerce looking at la Puerta de Alcal&aacute;, Spain"><figcaption class="caption">View from the top of the Chamber of Commerce looking at la Puerta de Alcal&aacute;</figcaption></figure><h3>What did you enjoy doing in your free time?</h3><p>If you go to Madrid, you must seek out authentic dining and live music! I thoroughly enjoyed paella and recommend Thursday night for music enthusiasts. Become friends with local students early on in the week and make sure to explore the nightlife with them toward the end of the week!</p><h3>What was your accommodation like? What did you like best about it?</h3><p>All of the fellows stayed in the Hotel Principe Pio, which is located right next to the Palacio Real de Madrid! It is ideally located for exploring the touristy parts of town as well as the quieter neighborhoods. Spend a day or two walking in each direction from the hotel and you'll find dramatically different, yet equally wonderful, experiences!</p><h3>What is one thing every participant should know before participating in your program?</h3><p>Beacon is intended for high character, high performing students who love adventure. There is a lot of autonomy and students need to demonstrate a certain level of responsibility before jumping into this program.</p><figure class="awesome-image centered"><img style="" src="https://www.goabroad.com/images/interviews/interviewphoto4-flo-1496300616.png" alt="Couple eating churros with hot chocolate at Chocolateria San Gines in central Madrid"><figcaption class="caption">Make sure to try churros and hot chocolate from la Chocolateria San Gines</figcaption></figure><h3>Now that you're home, how has your program abroad impacted your life?</h3><p>Spending time abroad always makes me appreciate home, while at the same time feeds my enthusiasm for traveling. Once you experience a foreign culture, it's hard to imagine pursuing a career that does not include opportunity for a diverse cultural experience. Now that I'm home, I look forward to pursuing my career with a more global perspective. I'm very excited to develop the relationships that were created during Beacon--both domestically and internationally--and seeing where these relationships take me!</p><h3>Would you recommend Beacon Fellowship for Business others? Why?</h3><p>Absolutely! To clarify, I'd recommend Beacon to students that demonstrate high character, a love of learning, and a responsibly adventurous spirit. This fellowship expands the mind by immersing students in a foreign culture while surrounded by successful professionals and ambitious students. The combination of these elements truly elevates participants' ability to flourish in any environment!</p>


John Flo

Check out this GoAbroad Interview with John Flo who participated in The Beacon Fellowship: Business Consulting Abroad program.

John Flo | The Beacon Fellowship: Business Consulting Abroad

John Flo - 2017 Program Participant

<h3>What inspired you to work for The Beacon Fellowship?</h3><p>I myself participated in the Beacon Fellowship as a sophomore in college, and it was an amazing experience that showed me exactly what it was like to work in consulting. I learned that I didn't want to work in consulting, but working at Beacon has given me the opportunity to empower other students with a similar experience of exploration and discernment.</p><figure class="awesome-image centered" style=""><img style="" src="http://www5.goabroad.com/images/interviews/3-1584066734.jpg" alt="Group of students"><figcaption class="caption"><p>Fellows enjoying some free time, Summer 2019</p><p></p></figcaption></figure><h3>What are some current projects you are working on?</h3><p>My main current project involves running our year-round educational webinars. These cover topics in consulting that range from an overview of the industry, to tips for applying, and going through case interview prep. They're an amazing way for us to offer our educational expertise to a wider audience, and a chance for us to inspire students to go further with one of our summer programs.</p><h3>What makes The Beacon Fellowship special?</h3><p>Beacon is an amazing experience primarily due to the quality of our Project Leads. The Project Lead, who guides each group of Fellows in the client work, comes with experience at one of the MBB firms, McKinsey, Bain, or BCG, and many additionally have received MBAs from top business schools like Harvard Business School. The quality of our Project Leads truly shines through, and it's amazing to see the impact they have on our Fellows, from fascinating lunchtime conversations, to learning how they manage and think during project work, and asking them questions about life as a consultant or application recommendations.</p><figure class="awesome-image right-aligned" style="width: 50%;"><img style="" src="http://www5.goabroad.com/images/interviews/1-1584066783.jpg" alt="Group of students"><figcaption class="caption"><p>Fellows on Excursion in Barcelona, Summer 2019</p><p></p></figcaption></figure><h3>What is The Beacon Fellowship’s mission and how do you continue to work toward it?</h3><p>Our mission is to prepare undergraduate students to become exceptional business people by creating a space for learning and mentorship through global, high-impact, real consulting projects. Our vision is to be the world’s leading non-academic business institution for business students.</p><p>In the spring of 2016, our founders were fueled by a desire to solve the problem they faced in undergrad — a one-sided business education that focuses on theory without real-world application. So, they took the skills they developed at McKinsey, BCG, and Booz Allen Hamilton, and created The Beacon Fellowship.<br></p><p>Since then, we've launched multiple successful programs, hiring current and former McKinsey, Bain, and BCG consultants who equip our Fellows with real, tangible skills, and help them to secure and excel in interviews, internships and jobs. Our Fellows have returned home with more than something to put on their resume — they've left as fundamentally better business people.</p><h3>What do you hope participants take away from The Beacon Fellowship?</h3><p>I hope participants take away a deep understanding of consulting and whether it's the right choice for them, as well as a fundamental grounding in key business skills such as PowerPoint, Excel, communication and feedback, problem-solving, and design. Consulting is really amazing for the diversity of skills and industries it exposes you to.</p><h3>If you could participate in one of The Beacon Fellowship's programs, where would you go and what would you do?</h3><p>If I could do another one of our programs, I'd go to Budapest, one of our new locations for this upcoming summary and a country I've yet to visit! Our client for this summer, Nokia, has a really cool project, and the office space overall has a unique culture and atmosphere of environmental innovation and green design. Budapest is also just a beautiful city, renowned for the Danube river and the historic buildings that line it.</p><figure class="awesome-image left-aligned" style="width: 50%;"><img style="" src="http://www5.goabroad.com/images/interviews/4-1584068015.jpg" alt="group of people"><figcaption class="caption"><p>Fellows on Excursion in Barcelona, Summer 2019</p><p></p></figcaption></figure><h3>Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?</h3><p>It's too easy to be comfortable, and so much value comes from moving outside of what one is familiar with. Traveling abroad expands one's perspective and allows one to reconsider previously held assumptions. New experiences enhance creativity and so you may be surprised and the new things you learn, see, and come up with while abroad.</p><h3>What advice do you have for individuals thinking about going abroad?</h3><p>Be open to trying new things! Your friends, classmates and family won't be there, so don't be afraid of trying new things, looking silly, and being embarrassed when you don't know a word in a foreign language or get lost in a foreign city's streets, or miss a flight. Traveling is an adventure and a chance to learn from one's surroundings and bring good things back to one's own home.</p><h3>What does meaningful travel mean to you?</h3><p>Meaningful travel includes an openness to local experiences, and the ability to take in sights and sounds. You don't have to photograph something to remember it. In fact you may be more likely to remember a sight you never photographed. Visit museums, watch a performance, drink wine along a river, make friends with a barista, and live adventurously.</p><h3>What qualities in a program and host community relations are important to you?</h3><p>Safety is our primary concern, exemplified by the 24/7 site manager on-site for our Fellows. We monitor the appropriate government and international agencies about travel advisories, choose housing located in safe areas, and escort Fellows to and from excursions, work sites, and meals.</p><p>A second quality is an amazing learning experience, achieved via top-notch Project Leads, high-caliber Fellows, and high-impact projects on which our Fellows work.</p>

Luke Cannon

Get to know the people behind The Beacon Fellowship: Business Consulting Abroad! Check out this GoAbroad Staff Interview with Luke Cannon.

Luke Cannon | The Beacon Fellowship: Business Consulting Abroad

Luke Cannon - Associate

Immerse yourself in a professionally enriching experience with Beacon's Global Consulting Internship Program, designed to enhance your strategic and analytical skills in a real-world business context. This program positions young professionals, graduate students, and accomplished undergraduates at the forefront of international consulting projects, offering a platform to collaborate with industry experts and engage with real clients across the globe. Whether you're aspiring to climb the corporate ladder, contemplating graduate school, or seeking to expand your professional network, Beacon provides an environment that challenges and nurtures your career aspirations.

The internship is available in locations such as Spain, Italy, and Washington D.C., ranging from one to nine weeks during the summer. Each location is selected for its unique business landscape, providing interns with exposure to international business challenges and cultures. Through this program, you not only gain substantial professional growth but also a chance to explore dynamic global cities.

The Beacon Fellowship in Spain, Italy, and Washington D.C. 

The Beacon Fellowship: Business Consulting Abroad

The Tycoons

The Beacon Fellowship is an international consulting program for undergraduates and post-grads interested in consulting or business. During our 1-4 week programs, Fellows work full-time under the guidance of McKinsey/BCG/Bain alumnus on a real project for a client and receive dedicated training in key consulting skills.

Unlike the theoretical exercises in which students normally participate in their class and in competitions, Beacon Fellows works on real projects with real clients who are interested in our Fellows' insights.This makes the entire Fellowship more dynamic and valuable, as each Fellow is given tremendous autonomy, responsibility, and ability to improve a business, NGO, nonprofit, or governmental institution.

What's more, each team is led by an experienced MBB consultant,...

The Beacon Fellowship is an international consulting program for undergraduates and post-grads interested in consulting or business. During our 1-4 week programs, Fellows work full-time under the guidance of McKinsey/BCG/Bain alumnus on a real project for a client and receive dedicated training in key consulting skills.

Unlike the theoretical exercises in which students normally participate in their class and in competitions, Beacon Fellows works on real projects with real clients who are interested in our Fellows' insights.This makes the entire Fellowship more dynamic and valuable, as each Fellow is given tremendous autonomy, responsibility, and ability to improve a business, NGO, nonprofit, or governmental institution.

What's more, each team is led by an experienced MBB consultant, who not only provides guidance to Fellows on the project, but also trains the students in core consulting skills and provides his or her own insights about business and consulting to each Fellow.

Fellows leave The Beacon Fellowship able to speak to not only the incredible skills they acquired, friendships and connections they made in a foreign country, and insights they received from the MBB Project Lead but also, just as in at a real consulting firm, the impact they had and the results they achieved.

The Beacon Fellowship is an international consulting program for undergraduates and post-grads interested in consulting or business. During our 1-4 week programs, Fellows work full-time under the guidance of McKinsey/BCG/Bain alumnus on a real project for a client and receive dedicated training in key consulting skills.

Unlike the theoretical exercises in which students normally participate in ...

Fellows on excursion in Barcelona, July 2019.

Beacon Fellows at INAP, Spain's National Institute of Public Administration

Spain

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A great opportunity

I had the chance to intern abroad with Beacon, and I'm glad I did! I was able to learn a lot of soft and hard skills, things that I don't think would be readily available at other internships. The other fellows that you meet are a great value to the program because everyone is there because they want to be there; they want to learn about business consulting so they'll put their 100% into learning from the project lead. The PL is also a great resource because you're working with them for such long hours, you'll be able to ask the PL for any advice about your project or about their past experiences. The added value of the program is its two-for-one deal: you'll learn about business consulting while learning about the host country, so it's both a cultural immersion and professional learning experience for you.

Great experience to intern abroad!

Simply put, if you can a chance to go, I believe you should. The work aspect of the trip was amazing. The project lead was very knowledgable and professional, and I learned so much from him and working alongside him and the company we were consulting for. The work was genuinely engaging and fun while also challenging and a great learning experience. What made this trip a win for me, however, was the people you meet. Including the project lead, the site managers, the fellows who come with you, everyone was so enjoyable to be around and it made it a memorable experience. You get the best of both worlds if you choose the Beacon fellowship. You get to do great work at a great company, while also enjoying your experience abroad with great people!

Really grows you, both personally and professionally

I had the wonderful opportunity of interning through the Beacon Fellowship program this summer and I honestly believe it was such an enriching experience in so many aspects.

For starters, the work I did (consulting for an ESports company, the MAD Lions) was real substantive consulting work and I feel like I was really able to apply the business communication and powerpoint design skills I possess. In addition, working in a team environment both helps add more the project as you learn how to deal with others, delegate tasks, and build a comfortable working social space. Upon completing the final presentation, I definitely felt like I had a worthwhile work experience worth talking about to future employers under my belt.

Additionally, Beacon does an excellent job connecting you to resources in the business and consulting world. With the other fellows, we were able to be mentored by our project managers, who had all worked consulting jobs for prestigious firms in the past. They were an ever-present resource and more than happy to share their experiences and inside tips with us. We were also able to have an info session presented by BCG and visited IESE, a renowned international business school.

For non-work aspects, Beacon certainly didn't lack in those aspects either. The vibrant culture and nightlife of Madrid ensure that  after-hours are never boring and most of the fellows use the weekends to visit nearby cities like Barcelona or Valencia. Also, you'll find that the vast majority of the other fellows are just really amazing, driven people that really brighten up your days. I still keep in touch with many of the other fellows and cherish all the amazing memories shared together. Finally, even though I got sick one weekend, I found the insurance provided by Beacon to come in handy in allowing me to visit the hospital and buy medicine for a very affordable price.

Overall, definitely would recommend for anyone thinking of getting into consulting or wishing to learn the skills that are  transferable into many other fields.

Your winning ticket to an international business experience

The Beacon Fellowship provided me with an amazing opportunity, and below I'll provide a completely open and honest review of my experience.

First and foremost, the fellowship is an amazing door into the consulting field. Our client was an extremely successful serial entrepreneur and our project was on the cutting edge of tech startups. We got personal attention daily from the client, from a third-year Bain consultant, and from our project lead who was an experienced Spanish businessman with an MBA from IESE. International business experience is highly coveted and this is an impactful way to take a step into the international business realm.

Second, the Beacon Fellowship provided an engaging cultural experience. We had 3 "Fellow Dinners" weekly. These dinners encouraged us to visit new parts of Madrid, try out new cuisines, and bond with our fellow Fellows outside of our project team. We also had weekly excursions to nearby towns that offered informative and exciting insights into each town. Definitely take advantage of all the programming offered by the Fellowship!

Third, the Beacon Fellowship has given me an advantage in my career. There were scheduled performance reviews weekly, and my project lead gave me great insight into my strengths and areas for improvement. I also independently took time to seek help from our project lead and from our Bain team member. I had the opportunity to practice case interviews, work on my CV, and get general career advice from experts in the consulting field. As a group, we visited BCG Madrid and IESE, which gave us great exposure to Spanish business and education. Like always, the experience is what you make it. You're presented with great professional opportunities and you'd be silly not to get out of your comfort zone and make the most of it!

Fourth - my only less-than-perfect piece of feedback - the pre-departure experience was a bit underwhelming. I was honestly a bit skeptical about the legitimacy of the program until the pre-departure call, two weeks before the experience. A bit more contact before the trip would be great, but I think this feedback has been heard loud and clear and will be improved in the future. 

TL;DR: if you're offered a spot in this highly selective program, go for it!

Great for developing business/consulting skills!

The Beacon Fellowship is four weeks of developing business and consulting skills under expert guidance (consultants come from Bain, McKinsey, etc.) for a partner organization in Madrid. For me, the international exposure and opportunities to travel were fantastic additions to what would have been, even in the US, a very helpful intensive internship environment. Fellows worked on meaningful projects for the client organizations, and several Fellows even received return offers from the clients. I would recommend the fellowship to those considering business and consulting seriously, with the lone caveat being that in many cases, you may have to fundraise to afford the cost.

Great experience & awesome people

When I signed up for this, I had no idea what to expect. Knowing the Beacon Fellowship was a newer program, I decided that even if I did not get anything from the fellowship from a learning perspective, at least I get to spend a month living in Madrid.  Every part of this Fellowship exceeded my expectations!  The hands on experience and day to day work was real and meaningful work.  As individuals we were  held accountable for completing our task.  As with any real world job, sometimes our team needed to work slightly longer hours that the other team (a normal day for us was 9:00-13:00, 14:30-18:30).  The two most memorable work days were the day we presented our finings, receiving feedback and gratitude from the COO and Co-founder of the company, and the day we went to BCG Madrid and where given a presentation about their practice and received feedback on our questions and thoughts about consulting. 
Second to the work experience were the relationships made; I made some great connections and also met friends I believe I will  have for a long time.  While we spent our time working with certain people, we would gather with other fellows and not only experience all of Madrid, but spent our weekends traveling to other cities.  The Beacon Fellowship has some great excursions, but will also allow you to travel on the weekend, at your own expense, to cities you want to see.  While on the Fellowship, I went on the Toledo excursion the first weekend, and the next two weekends went to Seville and Valencia with a few other fellows.   
Having said all this, if you are given the opportunity to go on the Beacon Fellowship, take it!

Great opportunity

This Fellowship allowed me to work on a real project with a real client to do something potentially very high-impact. The consulting group was an awesome mix of people and perspectives and the program was well coordinated. The location is incredible any time of year and the group outings were a blast. A great balance between meaningful work and fun.

Say yes

When I heard about this opportunity I was unsure if I should take part. Now, I am glad I saw it as an opportunity and said yes. The Beacon Fellowship is an opportunity to challenge yourself, learn, explore, have fun, make connections, and step out of the classroom to learn from real business problems.
When opportunities knock on your door say yes. If you have the opportunity to become a part of The Beacon Fellowship family, say yes. I call it a family because from the second you step off of the plane the only people you know are those you will be working with. At least that is how it was for me. Not only did my group get along very well during the trip, but we continue to stay in contact today. I describe it as a family because we spent hours working together that then turned into late nights talking and sharing with each other, that then lead to meeting up with each other while in the United States. 
The connections and the people are icing on the cake. The learning and experience is the most important aspects. My program leader set objectives that we talked about as a group to find who was best suited to tackle each specific challenge. These goals were no easy and were specific, but I still had room for a creative approach. The program leader was well educated and experienced in consulting and would take opportunities to teach the group different topics and consulting tips and tricks. This was very useful because I had no experience with consulting and with those little teaching moments I truly did learn. The project was exciting, challenging, and was really needed by the non-profit we were helping. Our client was very excited for what we offered. To me, you do not learn as much about business in classes over a semester as you do with a week in the real world.
Being able to immerse myself in a different work culture was amazing. The difference between the working hours of Spain compared to the USA is something you need to experience. 

Finally, to recap:
the people I worked with challenged me, supported me, encouraged me, confided in me, and became close to me.
The program leader was experienced and very fun. He was respected and loved. He gave us a lot of knowledge about consulting and how to work with clients.
The tasks were fun, challenging, and meaningful. They offered an outline but allowed me to create my own results in my own way. 
The culture was unique and exciting.
At the end when we presented we were offered internships in Spain and also in the United States.
The Beacon Fellowship has my full recommendation.

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