It鈥檚 no stretch to say Ruby Epstein 鈥22 dove right into life at 麻豆影视.
Already committed to hours of practice as a diver for Pomona-Pitzer鈥檚 NCAA Division III , she quickly immersed herself in the student-run during her first year on campus. By halfway through her sophomore year, Epstein was one of two managing directors of PCG, a club that serves professional business clients and trains students for careers in consulting and other fields.
鈥淚 really had no idea what I wanted to do, so that was part of the reason I joined,鈥 she says, explaining the opportunity to delve into a range of businesses. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 the case for a lot of people鈥擯CG provides broad exposure across so many areas that it鈥檚 a great experience regardless of what you鈥檙e hoping to do.鈥
After wrapping up her diving career last spring by becoming the first Sagehen woman in nearly two decades to compete in the NCAA Division III diving championships, Epstein also handed the reins of PCG to two new managing directors. She鈥檒l graduate in December after taking a semester off during the pandemic closure鈥攁 move that allowed her to complete one more internship before her search for a post-graduation job in consulting. She spent the last few months in San Francisco as a summer associate for AlphaSights, a global firm that specializes in knowledge on-demand by connecting investment and business leaders to a network of outside experts in an array of fields.
鈥淎lphaSights has introduced me to so many great people and allowed me to work on projects across a large variety of industries,鈥 Epstein says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a great learning experience and has encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone to be an active contributor on my team and deliver top industry knowledge to clients.鈥
A Top Career Choice for Graduates
Consulting and professional services鈥攁long with technology, education, financial services, and arts, entertainment and media鈥攁re among the top careers chosen by recent 麻豆影视 graduates. In addition, 25% of alumni in the Class of 2021 First Destinations Report entered graduate school, and a recent survey found that within 10 years of graduating from Pomona, 81 percent of alumni were either pursuing or had already completed an advanced degree.
As a managing director of PCG鈥攁n acronym that brings to mind the prominent Boston Consulting Group鈥擡pstein helped build the club from 15 or 20 students when she started to more than 60 over her 2陆 years in the role. Students join PCG as associate consultants and move up to consultant or leadership positions.
鈥淲e have real clients that we work with鈥攂oth in the area and throughout the U.S.鈥攆or our consultant teams, which are usually made up of one project lead and then four consultants,鈥 Epstein says. 鈥淥ur consultant teams work with clients and also with our external mentors, who are either alums or people that we鈥檝e been in contact with who are working in consulting and can come in and coach our project leads.
鈥淭he associate consulting program is a bit more of a training program,鈥 she continues. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e put into smaller groups and are all helping the same client, working through the process and learning different aspects of consulting like terminology and problem-solving strategies. They also work with project mentors and participate in events for recruiting, resum茅 tips, things like that.鈥
Managing a Busy Schedule
Epstein handled all of it with the same precision and grace that made her the 2022 SCIAC Diver of the Year. She later qualified for the NCAA Division III diving championships, finishing in the top 30 nationally on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. An excellent student majoring in cognitive science with a computer science concentration plus a minor in economics, she also earned Scholar All-American honors from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America.
Epstein鈥檚 multiple commitments haven鈥檛 hurt her performance. In some ways, she believes, they鈥檝e made her better, honing two skills that are vital in any career: time management and organization.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely been tough,鈥 she admits of her schedule, adding that the support of her teammates has been invaluable. 鈥淚 think another benefit of being an athlete on this team, especially, has been having a consistent practice schedule and a strong support network. On top of that, a consistent class time really helps you build out more of a routine and a regular schedule.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still been hard, honestly, to accomplish everything I want to accomplish,鈥 Epstein says. 鈥淏ut just being able to chip away at things and understand that not everything has to be done at once has been helpful for me.鈥
While diving has been a constant, Epstein says PCG activities ebb and flow throughout the academic year. 鈥淲e might be working on a specific project,鈥 she says. 鈥淥r when I was a consultant, there were maybe a few weeks where we had to get things done and it was a bit more crunch time鈥攁nd those tend to fall at the same time as midterms and finals. So it does sometimes feel like everything hits at once. But just being able to build up a consistent schedule and setting aside time to do everything really helps.鈥
Diving has provided its own lessons.
鈥淚 think the biggest things that I鈥檝e learned have probably been perseverance and overcoming fear,鈥 Epstein says. 鈥淎 lot of diving is not necessarily whether your body is capable of doing something. It鈥檚 less about physical endurance and physical strength and more about overcoming huge mental blocks to figure out in your head how to do a dive. I think the biggest outcome for me has been learning that I can always push a little bit further than I thought, and that鈥檚 something that will carry on鈥攁nd has carried on鈥攖hroughout other areas of my life.鈥