When students enroll in USC Marshall’s Full-Time MBA (FTMBA), they do so to accelerate their careers through the two-year program, and ultimately, change their lives. For Class of 2026 graduate Melissa Soong, it didn’t take two years; it took one week.

A former project manager, Soong enrolled at Marshall looking for a new challenge, a tight-knit network, and a people-facing career. Although consulting sparked her interest, she knew relatively little about the field. That changed during her first year when Marshall launched its Career Launchpad for FTMBA students. Weeklong information sessions and alumni panels convinced Soong to commit to her new path.

“[Marshall] invited all these brilliant guest speakers and I was just sold,” Soong recalled. “That’s ultimately a big part of why I found consulting and started gaining interest.”

Soong dove headfirst into the field, leaning on faculty, mentors, and classmates to guide her through technical know-how and the daunting recruiting process. Ahmed Elshinnaway, associate director of the consulting practice and adjunct professor of management and organization, helped the first-year MBA student build self-belief heading into networking events and, eventually, interviews. Soong learned that her product management experience, although unrelated to consulting, could be an asset.

“That one-on-one mentorship really helped me to feel confident in myself,” Soong said. “Being an Asian American woman in business, that is an area where you don’t see a lot of people that look like me. So at a lot of these recruiting events and networking opportunities, I was able to craft a story and a brand for myself to help me be memorable and help showcase my skillsets and how everything that I did previously as a product manager was transferable.”

Soong also joined USC Marshall’s Consulting and Strategy Club (MCSC), which pairs its members with second-year mentors to aid them along their professional journey.

“My mentor has been a [huge part] of my consulting journey,” Soong said. “We would meet once a week. He would tell me how to present myself, build my brand story, tell me who to network next, which firms are hiring, et cetera. I think that mentorship aspect is the strongest component of why I value the club so much.”

Coming into her program, Soong knew about the Trojan Network’s reputation for connecting alumni with Trojan job seekers. Yet, heading into internships, she couldn’t have imagined the support she’d also receive from fellow classmates, who were competing with her for the same positions.

“When people hear that you have an interview coming up, instead of saying, ‘Oh, how did you get that?’, they ask, ‘How can I help? Do you need any mock interview prep? I actually did this interview a few months ago. I can help you because these are the questions they asked me,’” Soong recalled. “That community is something that I didn’t have previously.”