In 2017, fresh out of college and ready to embark into the “real world,” Anderson Smith applied for the Orr Fellowship. The two-year, post-college, business fellowship program strives to develop the next generation of business leaders in entrepreneurs in Indianapolis. After a few rounds of interviews, Anderson was placed with Resultant and hasn’t looked back.
It seemed like a really good opportunity to broaden my experience a little bit. I studied engineering in college and just wanted to get a little bit outside of that, since I felt like I was kind of pushed into a bit of a niche, especially with environmental engineering. It gave me an opportunity to really be able to expand my experiences and try something that was a little bit more diverse and a little more open-ended.
Anderson Smith, Senior Consultant
A New Challenge: Consulting
Anderson was looking for a new challenge, and he found it in consulting: “I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with consulting, but since being placed at Resultant and starting to work here, I’ve really enjoyed the diversity of the work that we do, the challenge of the work that we do, and the potential for impact of the work that we do. And that’s really what has made me fall in love with the company and with consulting as a whole.”
While technically his job title is senior consultant, Anderson’s work extends far beyond data-informed decision making. While his already broad job scope lets him leverage technology and data to help solve complex problems, his actual day-to-day role expands far beyond that. From putting together business development proposals to internal operational projects, including a current project of developing predictive analytics for the higher education sector, the flexibility he gets at Resultant allows him to explore new avenues of experience and work with teams across the organization in the process. One project Anderson has enjoyed focusing on is leveraging data to increase student retention and on-time graduation rates within the higher education space.
“Resultant has set me up for success by providing me with a really strong foundation in problem solving and in working with diverse teams across all industries. And that’s something that I can apply both to my professional life going forward and to my personal life as well.”
Deep Expertise: From Data Analytics to the Office Espresso Machine
His ability to cover multiple subject areas and daily challenges expand beyond his career. Anderson is known around Resultant for being a bit of a renaissance man. His colleagues reach out to him for all sorts of wisdom, from cappuccino-making to investment advice.
“I’m a bit of a serial learner, if you will. I have a lot of different hobbies that I like to do outside of work. And honestly, probably my biggest hobby is just learning new things. Over the past three or four years, new hobbies I’ve picked up have been, motorcycling, sailing… I got scuba certified. I got my hang-gliding license. Picked up salsa dancing and bachata as well. And then just a couple of things that are a little bit more professionally oriented, like some different data science courses that I’ve taken.”
Anderson channels his interests to lead many of Resultant’s “Gathering Groups,” social clubs within the organization focused on a specific interest. He enjoys co-leading our book club, Toastmasters, cocktail-making, dancing, soccer, and the travel group.
“I joined my first Gathering Group, Toastmasters, early on in my career at Resultant. Book club and cocktail-making were informally turned into Gathering Groups. A lot of us like to read professional development books and we like to try out new cocktails, so I thought, ‘Why not do it together?’ I think it increases your overall connectedness and sense of belonging; it makes connecting with your colleagues easier. It opens up a lot of otherwise unknown opportunities for collaboration.”
Anderson’s attitude and desire to continually grow and learn coincide flawlessly with Resultant’s values of fearless problem-solving and deep expertise. He is a model example of a young professional and a core member of the Resultant team.
