Sofia Palacios

Consultant 2, Metro D.C.

Originally from Venezuela, Sofia went to high school in New Mexico and then studied economics at the University of Pittsburgh. During her college sophomore year, she participated in a business mentoring program that matched her with an individual who worked at Protiviti. That was when Sofia learned about the consulting profession and started to wonder if it might be for her.

"Sofia's commitment to learning and growth, combined with the care and support from her team, makes her story a true reflection of Life At Protiviti."

Transitioning from Intern to a Full-time Role

Following the advice of her mentor, Sofia decided to participate in the 2021 “Discover Protiviti” 2-day program, which is designed to give college sophomores first-hand experience of consulting. The program was virtual that year, but it was still highly interactive, and it sparked Sofia’s interest. She then interviewed for a Protiviti internship the following summer. Within weeks she received and accepted an offer to intern with Protiviti’s Pittsburgh office in 2022.

During her internship, Sofia worked on three different client projects – one of them on-site at a client warehouse. She felt lucky to be offered such a wide range of real-world consulting experiences. After a successful internship, she was offered a full-time position post-graduation, which she says allowed her to relax as she completed her senior year.

Building Confidence Through Team Care and Support

Sofia officially started her consulting career in July 2023 with Protiviti’s Business Performance Improvement practice, and has no regrets about the choice she made. A self-confessed extrovert, she enjoys meeting new people and dealing with new challenges – although she says it took a little while to transition from being a student to being a full-time professional with a schedule and a working week.

She also had to shake off her initial sense of “imposter syndrome” – within the practice she is often the youngest person in the room and found it difficult at first to speak up, even though her team mates were encouraging and supportive. But now she feels confident enough to offer her ideas and opinions, and has also learned to navigate the many business relationships in the office and client environments.

“Discover Protiviti and the internship were both great opportunities to learn about the profession,” she says. “I am grateful to work with such welcoming and supportive people. I was initially intimidated by the transition from being a student to starting my career, but with peers who want you to succeed and are willing to help, I’ve realized it isn’t as intimidating as I thought.”