What makes you a Difference Maker?
I can never do things halfway. When I set a goal for myself, I dedicate 110% of my time to making sure I accomplish it. Apart from my senior year, I have worked full-time through every single college semester. I was commuting to class and going home right after, but I knew that I was missing something from my college experience. I wanted to thrive and make the most of the opportunities around me instead of just getting by. I made up my mind to join every organization I could, go to every SI session, and take the time to get to know my professors and fellow students. This was one of the best decisions I made as it allowed me to expand as a person and grow in ways I would never have without the people I met pushing me to be my best self. When I saw the difference that having an on-campus presence could have, I wanted to share these experiences and resources with other people. I signed up for leadership roles, and learned I have a passion for mentoring. I became the advocate for university resources to my friends, dragging them to different events and organizations. As president of Women in Business I planned and led meetings while also recruiting new people to attend them. I want to see others succeed to their fullest potential and truly grow in themselves, I think there is always a lesson to be learned from your experiences, and if it would help even a little I want to share that knowledge with other people.
Tell us about your leadership experience.
I love to be involved in organizations, and as my friends would say I sign up to do everything. I am the president of the Women in Business association and led the organization through a year of online meetings which at times felt impossible. Because of the pandemic and how hard it has been for everyone I often had to step up and fill in other roles to make sure everything ran smoothly. I was elected to be on Eboard for Phi Sigma Sigma the same semester I was initiated as a member. I'm a 'big sister' to two amazing women through Phi Sigma Sigma and received the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation Scholarship last year. I ran a fundraiser for Phi Sigma Sigma selling Yankee Candles in 2019 which raised over $700. I signed up to be a member of Beta Alpha Psi while working full time and taking five classes. Outside of school I received three promotions in 2 years at my full-time job and ran my own department before leaving to take an internship with EY.
What is your dream career or goal?
I recently accepted my full-time offer at EY in Assurance for 2022. In the meantime, I plan on finishing my requirements and taking the exams for the CPA. I plan on working in public accounting as well as participating in more groups similar to Women in Business in the future. I have a passion for mentoring and want to help in making resources more accessible to women in lower-income areas. My goal is to become the kind of woman that can be a role model for young girls that don't have someone to look up to. Once I finish my CPA, I want to become fluent in sign language, I have taken some classes in my free time, but I want to really focus on learning it once I have more time.
What is your most defining moment?
My most defining moment was during one of the accounting and finance career fairs over a year ago. I was so intimidated by the recruiters and I felt as though I didn't deserve to be there. I had an internal conversation with myself and pushed all of my thoughts of failure to the back of my head and walked into the room as if it were made for me. I spoke to so many recruiters during that evening and at the "Meet the Firms" Beta event afterward and I began to notice that the recruiters wanted to talk to me. It was the first time that I realized that I had something important to offer and that my hard work was paying off. Another defining moment was just recently when I was looking at the attendance for Women in Business from the beginning to the end of the year. Seeing the progress we had made in membership retention and attendance was when I really felt as though I had made a difference. That, and talking to the members about internships they accepted after meeting recruiters in WIB meetings made me so proud to have been a part of that.