Instagram. Twitter. Facebook.

Where to begin? I can’t deny that I am on social media and use things such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and now I am a blogger. I can remember when Myspace first took off and when we had dial-up internet. Of all the forms of social media I find that our generation uses Facebook and Twitter the most. Speaking for myself, I occasionally go on Facebook, but not as much as I used to when it first started. The one application that I use on a daily basis is Instagram. I enjoy that it is sharing through pictures. I don’t Instagram a picture every day, or go on Facebook every day, or even blog every day. I try not to let social media consume my life.

Social media is definitely a great means of sharing with others and capturing certain moments. It is a way of communication, entertaining ourselves, staying up to date, and more, but when is it too much? I feel that technology and social media has taken over our lives and nowadays everyone is constantly on their phones, always on the go, never looking up. There was a video I saw a while ago that shows how social media has impacted our lives. We have forgotten to live in the moment and to enjoy the moment as it is.

Changing Majors

When I first started at CUA I was not an Accounting major, but an Architecture major. I always had an interest in the design of buildings, cities, homes, etc. During freshman year, as an architecture major you spend first semester taking the typical classes, lectures and introduction courses. The class of 2014 was the first class to start studio in the second semester. Studio was one of the most challenging things I have ever gone through. We did drawings, sketches, printouts, made models, did site visits, etc. Our final project was to build a wooden model of a home we did a site visit on. There were many all-nighters and tough times spent in studio. Overall I did well in the course, but in the end I knew it was not the career that I wanted to go into and I no longer had a passion for it. 

I was always interested in the world of business and that’s when I started doing some research. With a love for numbers and math, my decision was between finance or accounting. After taking ACCT 305: Introductory Financial Accounting or “boot camp” with Professor Kirst, I knew that accounting was right for me. There is great stability and the opportunities are endless. Every company needs an accountant, or an auditor, or a financial analyst, or a financial consultant. One day I plan to maybe even start my own firm. 

KPMG Internship

As a Master’s of Science in Accounting graduate student I am pleased to have the opportunity to take two MSBA courses, MSBA 503: Quantitative Analysis & Communication, and MSBA 504: Marketing with Integrity. Both courses caught my attention in terms of wanting to enhance my knowledge in excel and computer skills, as well as marketing myself to future employers.

I do not have an internship for this fall semester, but over the summer I had one with KPMG, one of the big 4 accounting firms. The internship spanned over 8 weeks in which I worked immensely in the field of Commercial Audit. I was able to work on 3 different clients and was given various tasks at each site. I worked on lease audits, a quarter-end audit, and a year-end audit. I learned and gained a lot of experience and was able to network and meet great people, as well as talk with some of the partners of the firm. The whole internship was a great and fun experience that gave me better insight on the field of auditing.

At the end of the internship I was given an offer, which I happily accepted. My start date is in the Fall of 2015. Upon graduating with my MSA this coming December I plan on thoroughly studying for the CPA and hope to pass all 4 exams. I look forward to what is to come and to starting my journey with KPMG.