Name: Elizabeth DeLuca
Class Year: 2021
Title: Senior Associate Consultant
Organization Name: Hayden Consulting Group
1. In one sentence, what does your job entail?
My role as an SAC is to support project teams with addressing our clients’ market access questions, typically by conducting research and translating it into digestible strategic findings.
2. What planned and unplanned events connected you to your industry and your first employer after Holy Cross?
I completed pre-med courses at Holy Cross with the end goal of attending medical school. After graduation, I worked in a hospital and realized that medical school was not what I wanted. I began exploring other career paths and was drawn to life sciences consulting as a way to leverage my healthcare interest and problem-solving skills in a new context. Through a Holy Cross alumni, I was introduced to Hayden Consulting Group and have been there for about 2 years now.
3. How did you learn/decide it was a good fit for you?
Hayden is a good fit for me because I feel excited about the work I do and going to work. I typically work on 2 projects at a time which last ~3 months each, so the work I am doing and the project teams I am working on are always changing. I feel like I am constantly learning because Hayden is so focused on professional development; they have taught me how to code, conduct primary market research, create XLS models, etc. I think what makes Hayden stand out is the company culture that they have created. It is a place where I am welcome to speak in company meetings and I have a relationship with the founders.
4. What were you involved in when you were on campus?
I was a member of Student Programs for Urban Development (SPUD) and Counseling Outreach Peer Educator (COPE). I was also a Chemistry lab TA and STEM+E tutor.
5. What was your major and how did it affect your career decisions?
I was a Chemistry major at Holy Cross and on the pre-med track. Looking back, I think in college I did not have a clear idea of alternative career paths for someone who was interested in the sciences/healthcare outside of becoming a physician. In my current role at Hayden, I leverage the knowledge I gained at Holy Cross when conducting background research on pharmaceutical products, understanding a treatment landscape, crafting discussion guides for physicians, etc.
6. What are one or two skills that you developed at Holy Cross that you use in your work?
The most valuable skill I learned from Holy Cross is analytical problem-solving. I think that this way of thinking is something I gained from my chemistry major and supports my everyday work. Our goal at Hayden is to answer our clients’ complex questions, so being able to take a problem and break it down into parts that can be answered is critical.
7. What advice do you have for students on campus today?
Graduating is such a special time in your life when you will truly become independent. Take some time and really think about what it is that you want to do and try to find a piece of that in your first job. You can build from there! And utilize the Holy Cross network – people are very willing to help in my experience.
