Living The Dream

I had just turned 17 when I walked into my first college accounting class. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but was excited for a new opportunity because I had just about exhausted my list of possible majors and had not yet found something that I loved. On the other hand, I had not considered the idea of a career in business, either. Although I had no idea what I was getting myself into at the time, it turned out to be the best decision I ever made. Not only did the material come easy to me, but I was also very interested in what I was learning.

What sealed the deal for me was the professor from my first accounting class. He had such a strong impact on me because of the stories that he shared about his experiences in public accounting; I had never heard anyone speak about a career with such passion. Never before did I have a professor who enjoyed reminiscing on past careers the way that he did. Everything clicked for me during my time in his class. I knew that I had found a major, and shortly thereafter, a career that I would be passionate about and would continue to excite me.

Once I declared a major in accounting, it was shortly after that I realized I wanted to end up in public accounting. I did not want to be closed-minded though, so I explored my options throughout college with a variety of internships. First, I worked as a teller; then I went onto accounts payable, general accounting, and finally cost accounting. All of these jobs were interesting, but they did not meet the expectations that I had for my future, so I searched for an auditing internship.

This is where I found Schneider Downs. Throughout my time here at Schneider Downs, I got the opportunity to work with a variety of clients and engagements. Every day I learned something new, which made me excited to wake up and go to work every day.  Schneider Downs focuses on the personal connections its professionals make with every one of their clients, and I can say that the firm definitely made a personal connection with me, as well. The work at Schneider Downs intrigued me, and the culture of the company was positive, caring and engaging, which made for a perfect internship.

I am glad that I can now say with the utmost confidence that I am starting grad school knowing what I want to do for the rest of my life, and I owe this assurance to Schneider Downs and the internship experience that I had.