From the moment Manu Srivastava stepped on campus, his immediate career goal was clear: consulting. To that end, he made every effort to position himself for a summer internship in consulting. In spite of an extremely demanding course load, Manu found time to participate in several case competitions throughout his first year at the Illinois MBA. But making time for case competitions was hardly a burden for Manu: “I love understanding and addressing real-life business problems and providing solutions for them. I guess that's what has driven me so far.” Not surprisingly, the highlight of Manu’s first year was when his team took first place in the Illinois Case Competition.
But Manu is hardly “all work and no play."

In addition to case competitions, Manu has a passion for cricket and even plays on an MBA cricket team in the Illinois cricket league. His interests extend to international cinema and art, and he also enjoys dabbling in photography and making short films.

Manu’s hard work his first year paid off as he is currently interning at OC&C Strategy Consultants in Boston, Mass., as a research consultant. It is a demanding position, in which he helps private equity and venture capital firms evaluate and formulate investment strategies. Although some people would find this sort of work stressful, Manu finds it exciting and relishes the opportunity to put his skills and passion to use.