Senior Consultancy

For the past four years, Elizabeth Black, owner of Grant Park Accounting, has received guidance from Senior Consultancy students at 3DE. As a client, she witnesses something special: a group of high school seniors stepping into the role of business consultants, developing real-world solutions, and leaving a lasting impact on her company.

Senior Consultancy serves as the capstone experience for 3DE students, allowing them to apply the skills and behaviors they have developed in 3DE to real business scenarios. Acting as consultants, students work in teams to develop solutions tailored to the specific needs of local businesses. For Grant Park Accounting, this meant tackling key growth challenges and identifying actionable steps to help the firm expand.

Elizabeth presented students with a fundamental question: How can her small business grow effectively while maintaining its core values and mission? "We explained the business, how we want to grow, and what some of those challenges of growth would be. The students then decided on four key areas we should focus on," she explained.

Throughout the process, the students impressed Elizabeth and her team with their ability to identify priorities, stay focused, and generate valuable insights. Elizabeth described the client sessions as "business therapy," where students created an open think tank to discuss challenges and offer fresh perspectives. "The meetings with our consultants are a positive and open thought space that spark further conversations internally as well."