Image: By: Danielle Hamann In April 2025, Ekta Gaur spoke to the Department of Psychology’s course, PSYC 3030: Preparing for a Career in Psychology. Gaur, a dual-Franklin graduate with a BS in Psychology and BA in Speech Communications, has worked in various fields ranging from being a barista at Starbucks to working at companies such as Ernst and Young (EY), Capgemini and pharmaceutical giant Merck. Gaur currently serves as an Associate Director of Transformation and Change Delivery at Merck. Gaur describes her path post-graduation as being anything but linear. After graduating from UGA, Gaur’s first position was as a barista. Growing up in a consulting family, Gaur’s father pushed her to take some online courses in project management, IT and other business-related areas. “My position at Capgemini [JEM1] is where I really got seasoned in the consulting world,” said Gaur. “Management consulting is a great path for post-graduation as it really opens your mind to lots of diverse paths.” Gaur credits both of her Franklin degrees to providing her with real-world success as they gave her robust understanding of strategic and human-behavior skills. Gaur still uses her communication and psychology skills to help clients and her team with human-centered change strategies. “My mixture of psychology and speech were the ideal degrees to get started in the real-world,” said Gaur. “I truly learned great communication and consulting skills.” Gaur left students with invaluable advice for their futures outside of UGA, wherever that path may lead them. “Flexibility and adaptability is really what is asked of you in the real world, so be open to those,” said Gaur. “There are people out there looking for you to be successful, so be intellectually curious.” “There are so many tools out there now that you can use to leverage yourself,” said Gaur. “When I was in college, I wish had advanced AI tools and LinkedIn to provide me with high-level advice and networking opportunities to give me high level advice or obtained an internship to be a few steps ahead.” Gaur also emphasized the evolution of the real-world and how empathy and emotional intelligence have become an important skill whether you are a partner, VP or client. In Gaur’s current position, she describes her day-to-day as diverse but always having many meetings and creating fancy slide decks. Gaur's position allows her to work mostly remotely with occasional travel providing flexibility to stay home with her 14-year-old dog. Gaur’s key takeaways were to be adaptable, flexible, how to accept rejection and be confident in yourself. “If I can convince myself I am confident then I should be able to convince who I am being interviewed by that I can take on the position,” said Gaur. “The confidence to give me a chance and that I can do it.” Gaur is a strong example of the real-world skills available via psychology and Franklin. She truly embodies The Franklin Spark --- ambitious, curious, creative and an innovative leader.
