From Research to Recommendation
Consulting Fellow — Yale/Elmseed Consulting Fellowship | March–May 2026
The Challenge
I joined the fellowship to learn how consultants approach problems that do not have one obvious answer. Working with a team, I learned to break a broad question into smaller pieces, research possible solutions, evaluate evidence, and decide what information mattered most.
The Project
Our capstone focused on economic development in New Haven. We researched companies and opportunities that could contribute to the city’s growth, then developed recommendations and presented our findings at the conclusion of the fellowship.
Turning Research into a Story
One of the biggest lessons was that good research is only useful if you can explain it clearly. I had to think about how to organize information, simplify complex findings, build a persuasive presentation, and communicate recommendations to an audience that had not followed every step of our research.
What I’m Learning
Consulting taught me to become more comfortable with ambiguity. Instead of starting with the answer, I learned to begin with the problem, ask better questions, test different possibilities, and be willing to change direction when the evidence pointed somewhere else.
“Good research matters most when it can become a useful decision.”
Why It Matters
The experience showed me that problem-solving can cross disciplines. Economic development may look very different from scientific research or community service, but the underlying process is familiar: understand the problem, listen to different perspectives, evaluate evidence, and turn what you learn into something actionable.