Anshuman (Anshu) Kowtha is a dual-degree student, pursuing a MBA/Executive MS in Engineering & Applied Science at Columbia University. As a BPI Summer Consultant, Anshu and his co-consultant conducted an extensive budget and fee operations analysis, determining the cost it takes to operate the North Rim and actions the park leadership can take to increase revenue and manage fee operations more efficiently. Their work will assist park decision-makers as they consider how they allocate money across divisions and locations at the Grand Canyon and how much it might cost to operate the North Rim for an extended season.
We caught up with Anshu at the end of the summer to debrief his BPI experience.
Purposeful Growth Institute: I’m curious to know what drew you to this internship given the many other options available to you at the time.
Anshu Kowtha: The first thing that caught my attention was the National Park Service as an employer. I have always revered the national parks, even from a young age; I think the NPS represents the best of the US. So, when I saw the internship on my school’s job board, I was immediately drawn to it and curious, at the very least. When I started to look into it more, I realized it actually had all the skill sets and work experience that I was looking for as well. From there, it seemed like an easy decision. I get to work with this organization I love and respect, and then also get to do work focused on things I’m learning right now – it’s really the best of both worlds.
Tell me about your experience with the case interview, particularly from your vantage point as a dual-degree student.
Being a dual degree student, I didn’t approach it from the stereotypical consulting perspective. I thought about it more like an engineer. There were definitely elements of my MBA education that I brought into the case interview, such as thinking financially, but initially, I took a more logistical approach, which I think is really relevant to the parks. It’s a physical asset that you’re dealing with, and a very large one much of the time, so it’s more than just working in Excel.
What was your biggest takeaway from training week?
I didn’t realize until I was on-site at my project how big of a deal the superintendent is at a park, so looking back, it was really special to have the entire leadership team at Great Smoky Mountains National Park take the time out of their day to sit down and chat with us.
Views from the daily “commute”
There is a lot of variety in the living situation for BPI projects, everything from urban parks, like Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia to more remote settings like yours, on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. What was that experience like for you?
For me, it seemed pretty normal. I woke up every morning in a little studio, would go shoot hoops for awhile (yes, they had a gym up there!), and then meet up with my co-consultant at work. I guess it is pretty unique to walk a trail to get to the office.
Of course, I tried to take advantage of the experience of living in a national park – checking out the assets of the park like the visitor center, soaking up the view, all of that. But overall, on the day to day, It was a pretty normal life, just in an extremely beautiful and serene place. That said, I did eventually break down and buy a Starlink halfway through the summer!
How was it working with a co-consultant?
I would say we struck a balance that optimized the comparative advantage of our respective skills. My co-consultant was a phenomenal writer and my preference was more for the financial side of things, so we kind of traded off on leading at different points. Toward the end of the internship, where there was so much to do, it made alot of sense to work independently, but we’d always set up a time at the end of the day to compare notes, share our work and get feedback, which worked really well for us.
What skill do you think the BPI developed or strengthened?
Oh, I got so much better at interviewing! It’s so clear to me. My degree program really emphasizes human-centered design and product-focused thinking, so a huge part of that is understanding the user or use case. I had practiced this in an academic context, but it was so cool to put it to use and quickly hone the skill in the intense context of a 10-week internship and such a wide breadth of stakeholders. Definitely a valuable skill for me to take away from the experience.
EMT training
How do you feel about the end product you delivered?
Though I wish we could have done more, I am really happy that we left them with a useful tool that provided clarity. There is now a verified budget for what it costs to run the North Rim, and that didn’t exist before, so that’s a useful piece of information that they’re going to be able to use for planning going forward. It also feels rewarding to know that our work won’t just sit on a shelf or in a file somewhere, it’s being used in real time.
Looking back, how did the internship influence your career path? Did it confirm the hypothesis you had going in? Or do you think your trajectory has maybe shifted as a result of what you learned and experienced?
I think it broadened my perspective versus defining a specific trajectory. I’m thinking about jobs more creatively. For example, as an MBA, you’re compelled to think about jobs where you’re actually spending the money rather than analyzing how the money is spent, right? After the BPI, I’m thinking differently about how these large capital bases, whether that’s impact funds or private equity, or even real estate development, can be leveraged in more creative ways. I can’t look away from the financial incentives that the industry has to offer completely, but at the same time, there’s something about doing work that moves the needle in a real way – that’s its own type of reward and payment.
Hiking views
What was the most valuable aspect, professional or personal, of being a BPI consultant?
It’s split 50/50 between professional and personal for me. I’ve gotten so much good work experience and skills that are definitely going to carry into a future career and the National Park Service has great brand value in the job market. And at the same time, it was just such a cool life experience. I mean, I got to hike Rim to Rim and that was phenomenal. I’m going to carry that for the rest of my life.
If you were to give any final words of advice or insight to first year graduate students, whether generally curious, or seriously considering this internship, what would you say?
If you want to do truly impactful work, then this is the right internship.
To learn more about the Business Plan Internship, please visit purposefulgrowth.org/bpi.