A Day in the Life

Laura Per-Lee grew up in a family of strong businesswomen. During her freshman year at Furman, she began to see herself as a woman who also could fit into the business world. She decided to attend Accelerator to learn more about specific career opportunities, to develop her professional skills and to learn about what getting an MBA would be like.

Here's a glimpse into a typical day in her life while in the Accelerator program.

6:00 AM

Wake up, get dressed into my business attire, and brew a cup of coffee (a must-have for the busy day ahead). Walk over to Owen with my roommates.

7:00 AM

Grab breakfast with team members or friends depending on the day. Breakfast is a great time to get to know someone new, re-group as a team and practice our “elevator pitches,” or make final touches on presentation days.

8:00 AM

Most mornings start up with class or a guest speaker. Some of my favorite classes so far have been “Strategy” with Professor Slatton, “Personal Brand Building” with Kimberly Pace and an “Excel Workshop” with Professor Wilkerson. The lectures equip us with the proper tools and knowledge to approach the problems in our consulting projects.

9:30 AM

Team time! Throughout the day we switch between class and project time. Some days we start working on project one and then switch to project two with a different team. It’s a fast-paced environment that has taught me how to get to the core of the problem quickly, and not waste time.

12:00 PM

Lunch is a highlight of the day. It’s a good time to take a break and sit in the courtyard to eat and get to know your team members better.

1:00 PM

After lunch, we jump right back in. A lot of times we have guest speakers like Accelerator alum, Christine Owenell, who shared her story about how she started her own consulting agency in Nashville.

2:45 PM

Afternoons are a great time to check in with coaches and mentors one-on-one. Each team is assigned a coach who is there to answer any questions we may have about our projects. My coaches have also helped me see how I fit into the team dynamic through constructive feedback about ways I can improve my teamwork skills.

4:00 PM

Back to project mode. For every deliverable, a professor or mentor comes and gives feedback on our work. This is crucial time to iron out rough spots in our business plan and run our ideas by an “experienced business professional.”

6:00 PM

Most nights my team will work through dinner to ensure we complete our deliverable for that day.

8:00 PM

When 8:00 PM rolls around, everyone is usually pretty tired, but determined to keep working on making our project the best it can be. The nights before presentation days are always late, but it feels good to see the hard work pay off in the morning!