Q&As with our Summer interns at Windrose
Q&As – with Amy Brinster (Left), Aashray Gupta (Centre) and Isaac Tolley (Right), Summer Interns at Windrose Consulting Group
In our Q&A’s with the team at Windrose, we delve into careers, advice and what it’s like to work at Windrose.
In this edition, we speak to our three summer interns at Windrose: Amy Brinster, Aashray Gupta and Isaac Tolley.
Amy Brinster
Tell us about your life journey so far…
I'm a rising senior at Penn studying Cognitive Science, with a minor in Healthcare Management. My freshman summer I worked at a cryptocurrency start-up and this last summer (and during the school year) I worked at a Molecular Biology Lab at Penn, focusing on axonal regeneration in larval zebra fish. My interest in healthcare strategy and life science entrepreneurship through classes for my minor led me to apply at Windrose!
What moment in your studies are you most proud of?
One noteworthy moment in my academic journey that I am proud of is when I created a personalized concentration within my major. After taking a diverse range of courses in Economics and Neuroscience, I developed a strong fascination with their intersection, specifically in the realm of Behavioral Economics. This prompted me to curate a set of tailored courses that allowed me to explore my interests more and take a multidisciplinary set of classes.
What’s the best piece of academic advice you’ve been given?
I think the best piece of advice I have been given is from my grandfather, who from a young age told me the importance of working hard and being relentless for my goals, which I have carried through my academic and professional career.
What has your life been at Windrose so far?
So far at Windrose, I have been learning a lot about different international healthcare systems which I have found to be intriguing given that my main exposure previously was only in the U.S. market. In addition to this, I am shadowing a project over the summer whilst completing an internship project on the side, so I keep myself busy and am learning all about the research, data collection, and project structure at Windrose.
What has been your favourite thing since you’ve been interning at Windrose?
My favorite thing at Windrose is the people and how welcomed I felt when I joined. Everyone at Windrose is passionate about what they do and genuinely interested in getting to know me and helping with whatever questions I have, which as a newcomer is invaluable.
And finally for fun… which talent would you most like to have?
If I could have one talent it would be cooking well without any recipes. I love trying out new restaurants in Philly with friends and would love to be able to recreate these meals, so this talent would be something my roommates and I would really enjoy.
Aashray Gupta
Tell us about your life journey so far...
I have just finished the 2nd year of my Biomedical Sciences degree at Imperial College. Prior to university, I lived in New Delhi for most of my childhood before moving to the UK for the last 2 years of school. During my degree, I have enjoyed learning about pharmacology and immunology, and have participated in several research projects as well, including work on a new model to study heart failure last summer. I am excited to continue learning at Windrose!
What moment in your studies are you most proud of?
I am very proud of the resilience I showed through my academic studies, especially given that I switched schools several times. I think I was very flexible and adjusted to different surroundings quickly. I am most proud of a research paper I wrote as part of my IB diploma, which focussed on the link between air pollution and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in New Delhi.
What’s the best piece of academic advice you’ve been given?
The best academic advice I’ve been given was “Understand, don’t just memorise” by my dad. This advice has helped me tremendously at university and understanding what I have learnt has allowed me to apply it to many different situations.
What has your life been at Windrose so far?
Definitely busy but I have enjoyed every bit of it. All the training material has been extremely engaging and I have learnt several new skills in such a short period of time already. I have recently started utilising these skills while working on a client project which has been very exciting!
What has been your favourite thing since you’ve been interning at Windrose?
Meeting everyone for the first time at the sushi making social was the perfect start to life at Windrose. Since then, the whole team has been extremely helpful which has made it very easy to settle and it has been great meeting and learning from a different team member in every training session.
And finally for fun… which talent would you most like to have?
If I had to choose a talent, I would love to be able to play the guitar. I am always amazed by how well other people can play the guitar and unfortunately, I have never been able to do it myself! I would love to have the ability to just pick up the guitar and play any song I like!
Isaac Tolley
Tell us about your life journey so far…
I have recently completed my 2nd year at UCL, studying Biochemistry with a focus on Molecular Biology. I have developed a strong interest within the life sciences and have enjoyed completing research placements within neuroscience, working with fruit flies last summer to try to uncover potential drugs to treat neurological diseases. I have really enjoyed my broad scientific education, especially within areas such as immunology and pharmacology, and I am excited to explore these further at Windrose.
What moment in your studies are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the hard work and time I’ve invested into my studies. Throughout both school and university I have often found myself fascinated by the content taught and been keen to delve deeper into the material. Sometimes this has made studying feel much longer and more stressful, but the grades and ranking of 2nd within my cohort at UCL I achieved felt much more rewarding because of it.
What’s the best piece of academic advice you’ve been given?
The best piece of academic advice I’ve received is probably from an assembly the headmaster at the new school I was starting gave when I was just 10 years old. He urged us to develop “grit”, to learn from our mistakes and to persevere, no matter how challenging the task we faced. He also said “if you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail” which I think is very apt advice for life in general.
What has your life been at Windrose so far?
Busy, stimulating and very enjoyable. All the training I’ve been through so far has been very useful and engaging. Every session has been with someone different, so it has been great to get to know everybody and learn from the wealth of expertise at Windrose.
What has been your favourite thing since you’ve been interning at Windrose?
I have felt really welcomed by everyone at Windrose, both in their generosity with time to help support my training and real friendliness to chat. I have relished coming into the office every day to discuss all of the new content I have been learning, going out and catching-up over lunch and soaking in the stunning views from the new office.
And finally for fun… which talent would you most like to have?
Probably to be unbelievably good at football. I would love the chance to fulfil my childhood dreams of leading my team Arsenal to footballing glory and the extortionate salaries handed out these days would be a nice bonus. At the moment, I play football at Hackney Marshes, which is a fairly accurate description of the pitches there especially after any rain, so I think the opportunity to play at the pristine Emirates Stadium would be a delightful experience.