My experience in the Woodbury School of Business was very good. In my opinion, the business school does a good job of being professional without being unapproachable. I think some business schools can seem extremely daunting for young students because the professors take themselves too seriously. That is not the case in the Woodbury School of Business. This lack of pretension allows the students to focus on their education rather than trying to “fit in.”

When it came to school resources and advantages, I probably sold myself short. I worked full-time and went to school full-time, so I didn't do much outside of keeping up with classwork. I took advantage of the smaller class sizes to become close with many of my professors. This helped me learn more because I was able to ask candid questions and press for the knowledge that I was looking for. 

Hands down, my favorite class was the professionalism and leadership class with Joel Helquist. We get so many technical classes, and in reality, they are all fairly similar. This class focused on soft skills and personal development, and we could use more classes like this. As far as professors go, Joel Helquist, Kari Olsen, Kami Ball, Marty Van Wagoner, Josh Cieslewicz, Cary Wasden, and Kevin Smith were all top-notch teachers and people.

I believe that school will only enhance and magnify the things you are already doing in other parts of your life. School isn't a place to remake yourself. Maybe it is for some people, but for me, it helped enhance things like being able to communicate professionally, work in teams, problem-solve, and balance multiple deliverable timelines.

For the last three years, I had been working as a revenue accountant at Vivint Smart Home. As of October 5th, I am working at Tanner LLC as an audit associate. Outside of work, I have been trying to complete the CPA exams. I have passed FAR, REG, and AUD, and I took BEC on September 30th. I’m hoping that all went well so that I am done with all four parts. To keep me sane between COVID and the CPA exams, I have been playing an ungodly amount of pickleball.

I have three pieces of advice for students. The first two were both things that I figured out very early on. The last one took me until my graduate degree to figure out. First, get to know your professors on a personal level. Treat them with respect and professionalism but realize that they are people too. They enjoy making connections outside of what they are required to teach. The more you understand someone, the better you are going to be able to learn from them. Second, don't sell yourself short. Aim as high as possible and realize it isn't the school or professor's job to make you successful. Have some ownership and accountability for your success. Lastly, find people that you enjoy working with and support each other in succeeding. Working full-time, I never took the time to make friends in class. It wasn't until my graduate program, when my cohort was always in the same courses, that I made friends with people. Those friends really helped each other succeed in the program.