I began my college career studying Leadership & Strategic Innovation at the University of Washington Bothell’s School of Business. Quite frankly, my goal was to graduate as soon as possible and figure out my interests after I began the 9-to-5. But I slowed down my sprint when the experience of applied learning ignited my passion for learning.
In my second year at UW Bothell, I joined the Bothell Consulting Association, a student-run group where we tackled real consulting projects for local businesses. For my first project, I worked with a team of students to develop a marketing strategy for Relish, a recipe and meal-planning platform. At the time, I had taken only one marketing class, and I remember feeling out of my depth.
I had always assumed business strategies followed a narrow, clear-cut set of rules, but my teammates quickly proved me wrong. From gyms to health-focused grocery stores, we brainstormed partnerships I had never considered possible. What started as uncertainty turned into excitement. That project taught me one of the most valuable lessons in consulting and in business more broadly: the value of investigating tributaries, where most only explore the main river.
I also learned that experiences such as mine don’t happen in isolation. They happen because of the people who guide, mentor and create these opportunities. I’d like to thank Dr. Anny Wei, associate professor in the School of Business and faculty adviser for the Bothell Consulting Association, and John Naumann, director of corporate and foundation relations, who taught us how to connect with community partners and provide the biggest impact to students.
I’d also like to thank the Bothell Consulting Association’s partners, most prominently, the Latino Educational Training Institute. Led by founder Rosario Reyes and her team, LETI provided project opportunities for many UW Bothell students, including me. For the BCA alone, LETI has given 14 students real-world consulting experience!
My experiences with BCA gave me the confidence to go beyond campus for my next step. The summer after my second year, I joined Slate Group Consulting as a student purchasing manager intern. Almost immediately, I was surprised by how much time our supervisors invested in the interns. My boss held daily office hours to help us adjust to our first professional environment and was never too busy to walk us through the intricacies of purchase orders and contracts. At Slate Group, I was trusted with the same responsibilities as a full-time employee and even got to lead my own internal operations-related project — a process that involved collaborating with people across the company and working closely with my supervisors to implement my ideas. To say this gave me a confidence boost would be an understatement.
My three-month internship at Slate taught me the ins and outs of purchasing, but more than that, it taught me adaptability and how to approach problems I had no idea how to solve. Such internal assurance gave me the courage to jump into my next unfamiliar endeavor: environmental research. I was brand new to practical science when I enrolled in the Ecological Restoration capstone my senior year. I knew I cared about the environment, but scientific research felt out of my league. Despite my uncertainties, I had the amazing opportunity to partner with Whale Scout, an organization that supports salmon and whale habitat restoration projects, to do water nutrient testing in the former Wayne Golf Course in Bothell.
Right away, I had to get comfortable asking for help. My mentors at Whale Scout, alongside UW Bothell faculty, spent hours with me out in the field and in the lab, answering questions about biology concepts, teaching me how to use lab equipment, and modeling what it means to be a lifelong learner and a passionate advocate for environmental justice. I want to give a shoutout to Dr. Amy Lambert, teaching professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, and Rachael Kutz, field biologist and education manager at Whale Scout, for their exceptional guidance. Even though I’ve started my career in business, I know my itch to partake in science and in continuous learning won’t dissipate. I will always explore more ways to enrich my day to day and work to create more spaces where people can enjoy nature.
Learning from community organizations and companies helped me shape my own pathway and discover numerous passions throughout my undergraduate experience. Not only did they help increase my knowledge, but by valuing my perspective and creating a welcoming environment, they also supported my development as a professional and lifelong student.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from the wonderful mentors who encouraged me to stretch my thinking beyond the classroom. I’m not alone in this — many students at UW Bothell have discovered new interests and career pathways as a result of working with the University’s many partners.
The trust that these partners invest in students and the work they put into making these empowering learning experiences possible have provided me with a larger perspective outside of textbooks and exams. I was fortunate to work with four of them and hope to someday be on the “other side,” completing the circle by mentoring an intern.
My advice to incoming students this autumn quarter is to stay curious and seek out these opportunities — there are more than you think! At UW Bothell, you don’t have to wait until you’re a junior or senior to get an internship or to apply your learning in the real world. You can start your first quarter!
Allison Doak graduated in June 2026 with a degree in Business Administration. With thanks to Larry Karr, Natasha Maesta and JB Simpkins at Slate Group Consulting, she immediately returned to the company, this time as a full-time employee. In her role as purchasing manager, she supports purchasing and compliance operations as a vendor for Microsoft’s marketing department.
