Meet Some of Our Accounting Students

I am the Director of Finance for the SGA. Over my two years in this position, I learned the importance of time management and effective systems. My job was to account for and manage a budget of nearly $400,000. With transactions occurring every day, I created an internal financial management system that helped streamline the process. I was able to innovate solutions in order to optimize efficiency.

I took a finance class where we built data models in Microsoft Excel. The knowledge I learned in this class allowed me to build data models and systems as I worked at other jobs. I was able to create Excel systems that streamlined processes and analyzed data that were then used by my employers.

Champlain taught me how to act professionally, encouraged me to be a team player, and provided me with a foundation of knowledge to help propel my future career. At the end of my internship with KPMG, I was offered a full-time job post-graduation! I don't think I would have had the opportunity to work for a Big Four accounting firm if I hadn't landed the internship.

The Upside-Down Curriculum gets you that hands-on experience pretty much the first day that you start here. I actually came in as an International Business major, not Accounting. But I knew after taking my first accounting classes with my professor Dave Mona that I really wanted to switch my major because it was a better fit for me. The transition was really easy.

I work for Davis & Hodgdon as a paid tax intern. I'm doing a lot of triage work and preparing client materials. I'm getting lots of hands-on experience with tax information—which is what I wanted from the internship. As a sophomore, I am the youngest intern out of all the interns for the company I work for.

Other colleges may not start you in internships until your junior or senior year, but since we have been learning industry skills through the Upside-Down Curriculum from our first year, Champlain interns are able to start in the professional world early on. I can have multiple internships while at college, which will put me at an advantage when applying for jobs.

Yeah, I feel that Champlain is preparing me for the professional world. They do a good job of matching students with internships. School can teach you the basics, but when you get on the job, that's when you really start learning.

The Upside-Down Curriculum gets students involved in their major in their first year in college. It really puts you ahead of the curve, especially when you're seeking internships. It allows you to get internships earlier than students from other colleges would be able to, because you get into your major in your first year. And if your major ends up not being what you're looking for, at least you know that in your first year rather than your third.

The thing I'm going to miss most about Champlain are the people that I've met here. At Champlain, it's been very easy to meet great people. Through the friends that I've made, I've really blossomed from the person that I was in high school to the person I am now.