The Rady School of Management’s MBA curriculum is placing students into real consulting engagements through the Rady Action Project before they begin internships, pairing teams with executive-level clients who set expectations through weekly status reports. The program is designed to mirror professional consulting by requiring students to create project charters and work plans rather than solving a preset prompt. Rady’s executive director and instructor Sandy Kenny says the intended discomfort is part of the learning cycle: students must manage ambiguity and scope like real client teams, with structured coaching instead of direct answers. Client sourcing is handled through partnerships with corporate outreach specialist Meredith Mendez across San Diego’s economy. For business schools focused on career readiness and student success, the model offers a repeatable way to build client communication, planning discipline, and stakeholder accountability earlier in the MBA timeline.