Anirudh Vigneshwar Gokul Raj is from Chennai, India and uses he/his pronouns. He is a Senior pursuing a dual degree in Management Consulting Analytics and Finance. He will complete his Management Consulting and Analytics degree in May of 2023 and will complete his Finance degree in December of 2023.

Anirudh Vigneshwar Gokul Raj is currently an intern for the Department of Management at Virginia Tech. He has been an intern since the Fall of 2022 and is still participating in the internship.

We asked Ani to share both his internship and Pamplin experiences with us.

How did you find your internship with VT? How long have you been working there? What is your title and what do you do for them? 

I learned about this opportunity through Professor Denise Cordova, I have been working in this role for a semester now. I serve as an Employment Analytics Intern for the Department of Management. My responsibilities include finding internship and full-time opportunities for management students contacting recruiters and maintaining a database of opportunities end points of contacts. One of the primaries focuses of the internship this semester has been about discovering more opportunities for our international students and we are also working on a professional development resource handbook for management students amongst other things.

What is your favorite part about the internship?

My favorite part of the internship is being able to work on creating and identifying opportunities for our students and seeing them benefit through it.

What type of student would you recommend to apply to this internship and why?

Anyone with good communication and interpersonal skills that is interested in learning more about the job market and is passionate about furthering the opportunities and resources for Pamplin and Management students!

What do you want to do after graduation? 

That is a million-dollar question lol! I'm very passionate about consulting specifically strategic consulting but unfortunately the opportunities for international students in this specific field in the current climate are limited. As soon as I graduate I might try and work for the Big 4 in India for a couple of years before I pursue a deferred MBA after which I want to work as a Strategy Consultant with one of the MBB consulting firms. Eventually I want to start my own business and move back home to Chennai.

What advice would you give to an incoming Pamplin freshman?

I'm going to share with them two pieces off advice that I received as a freshman! One was from Professor Ron Poff he said, and I quote “Fail Fast Fail Forward”. The other was from Professor Laura Townsend she said, “Trust the process and not the result”. To further expand as a freshman, it can be overwhelming especially with the amount of change that they have to deal with in a shot span of time, but the best part is they are surrounded by people who are on the same boat or have been on that boat not too long ago. Take advantage of the resources Virginia Tech and Pamplin have to offer. Put yourself out there be as involved as possible! We house some of the best student run organizations not just at Virginia Tech but arguably in the country. Also remember nothing is a guarantee you will face rejections you will have setbacks in life just make sure your comebacks are always stronger than your setbacks!

What is your favorite part about being a management and or Pamplin student?

The management department arguably is the best department at Pamplin in my humble opinion, yes, I am biased ha-ha. I consider myself very lucky to be a part of this incredible team we have some of the most talented, respected, and down to earth professors and faculty members that we can always rely on. It feels more like a family where everybody is willing to help you right from your fellow classmates all the way up to the head of the department. The opportunities they offer students our mind boggling just to name a few the Management Advisory Board mentor- mentee program gives you the opportunity to be mentored by industry leaders which is unparalleled. Also, the resources that they extend to students and student organizations under the department of management is unparalleled.

What is your LinkedIn?

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/anig3/

If any, what organizations are you in and what do you enjoy about them?

I am pretty involved with student organizations on campus, fun fact it just so happened almost everything that I am involved in falls under the department of management. As a freshman I was involved in Innovate the living learning community, I gained a lot out of that experience, and it gave me a platform to hone my entrepreneurial and leadership skills. More recently I have been involved with Pi Sigma Epsilon a professional business fraternity, I serve as their VP of DEIB. The thing that I love most about PSE is that you are part of a community of highly motivated individuals that have your back and the balance we achieve between professional and personal aspects of the brotherhood. I also work as a consultant for the Consulting Group which functions as a pro bono consulting firm and our clients range from local businesses all the way to Fortune 100 companies. being able to work on real time client projects while still being a student is game changing. It allows you to put the skills that you learned in class make the most out of the knowledge you've gained. Finally, I also am part of the Dean's Advisory Board of students at Pamplin and what I enjoy the most is the impact we can create as a group to build a better Pamplin for the students and faculty alike.