Thanks, Parents...

Just wrote an e-mail to my parents thanking them for all they do (which is a LOT!). Thought it'd be nice to share what's been going on lately =)

Hello Parents,

I just wanted to say a big, big, BIG THANK YOU to you all.. for supporting me in so many endeavors. It's hit me quite a few times lately how absolutely blessed I am to be in school.. and to have a job.. and to have parents willing to pay for my schooling and some personal expenses. How amazing is it that even in this economic crunch (or disaster!), I don't have to worry (for now) because I'm in school? And I know there will be many opportunities for jobs because of my education and all the things I'm being trained to do at Foster (Business School). Foster's goal is to become the #1 Business School in the nation!

And... the number of opportunities that have been put at my proverbial doorstep is mind-blowing. I've gotten pretty involved in the Business School and the Accounting club here and they're teaching me so much...! I learned how to use Quickbooks last week and will be working closely with the Financial Manager at a small company to help them get their books in order. And I've got an informational interview (interview to find out about positions, the interviewee's history, and how to be an appealing candidate) with the lady in charge of recruiting at Clark Nuber. (I really want to work for Clark Nuber. They're the #6 Accounting Firm in the Puget Sound, just behind Moss-Adams and the Big 4. 50% of their clients are nonprofit, so my chances of getting to work with a nonprofit are relatively very high!)

So, again.. thank you. I don't say "Thank You" enough for all you do.. including putting food on my plate and roof over my head. It means.. A LOT..

Love you all,
--
Jessica K. Nguyen
Accounting, Finance Class of 2011
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com

Orientation! And... a discrepancy.

Had my Accounting orientation today. I missed out on most of it because I didn't get out of my Finance class until 4:20 (orientation started at 3:30), but came in just before Bill Resler, a great Foster lecturer in Accounting, finished his talk on the Accounting Tax Master's Progam (MPAcc TAx). I remember hearing him speak a few years ago at a Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) meeting I got to attend in high school... He might have also spoken at the Accounting Career Awareness Program (ACAP) Residency Week I went to at UW the summer before my senior year in high school. Anyway, it was through ACAP and hearing Bill speak that I decided I want to focus in Tax. And it was really cool to hear him speak again... (The nerd in me gets really giddy when he talks about tax and the elements of tax and how tax people love tax.......=)

They gave us folders stuffed with a ton of handouts and useful information. One of the sheets was a list of top Accounting firms and top employers in Washington and the Puget Sound Area. I scanned the Accounting firm list for keywords like "tax," "nonprofit," "international," and "individual." Number 5 on the list was Clark Nuber, whose specialties are, "Federal, state and local tax consulting and planning, auditing and accounting services for commercial businesses, high-net-worth individuals and not-for-profits." Wait a minute, I thought to myself. THIS explains why I couldn't find "Clark-Newton" accounting firms anywhere on the Web! Apparently, my memory distorted my former professor's words. This was the firm that Bill Wells had told me about! And they are coming to speak at one of the upcoming BAP meetings!

So.. lots more excitement coming up. The Agathos Foundation is having their annual banquet up at the Lynnwood Convention Center on October 26th... They asked me and a few others who've been to Africa to go on stage (in front of hundreds of people!) for a few minutes and share the most significant thing about our time there. I'm still figuring out exactly what to say (so much happened there, how do I narrow it down??), but I will keep you all updated. That's all I've got for tonight... thanks for tuning in =)

Jessica K. Nguyen
Accounting, Finance Class of 2011
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com

Fall has come!

School started yesterday. I'm really excited for this quarter - taking Intermediate Accounting, Business Finance, Marketing Concepts, Business Communications for Accounting, and a choir class. Monday and Wednesdays will be long (8 hours of class on Mon, 6 hours on Wed) but I only have one class on Tues/Thurs and NO CLASS on Friday!

I've been meeting with advisers the last couple days and they've helped ease many of my anxieties. Bill Wells (former Acctg prof) informed me that there ARE options to do Big 4 Accounting (or even acctg at a large firm) and still help kids in Africa. He said KPMG has (or at least had) a small, but decently-sized nonprofit segment and he could connect me with someone at Clark-Newton over on the Eastside. (He said Clark-Newton is fully nonprofit and they're the biggest nonprofit firm over on the Eastside). My academic adviser helped me sketch out a graduation plan and it looks like I'll be graduation in Spring of 2011 (instead of 2010, and with a French minor!) so that I'll have enough credits to take the CPA exam.

As it turns out.. I am no longer taking that Tax Course that I was so excited about. A good friend of mine talked me out of it, because I probably would have lost my sanity and good spirits if I loaded up 16 credits (5 classes), 6 hours/week for the tax course (+homework, probably), work, xAct, and a social/family life. I'm really thankful to her and my dad for encouraging me not to stretch myself too far...

Well, I'm off to an info session with EY (Ernst & Young, one of the Big 4 firms). Tonight I'll be going to the BAP (Beta Alpha Psi - an honors Acctg/Finance organization) Welcome BBQ... so much to do, so much excitement! It will be a fun quarter.

Jessica K. Nguyen
Accounting, Finance Class of 2011
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com