Ashland University Holds ‘Meet the Accountant Night’
A large number of students attended Ashland University’s “Meet the Accountant Night,” which was held Sept. 8 in the Ridenour Executive Education Center of the Dauch College of Business and Economics. This event has been held on campus for the past five years and is sponsored by Becker Professional Education, Institute for Management accountants (IMA) club and the Career Services Center.
“This event is a great opportunity for our students to build relationships with the firms, and it is also exciting to see all of the energy and enthusiasm in everybody,” said Dr. Kristine Parsons, associate professor of accounting.
Sixteen different employers from all over Ohio came to this event to represent their organizations. These companies included Ohio Auditor of State, Barnes Wendling CPA, Beck Professional Education, CBIZ, Deloitte Services LP, Ernst and Young LLP, Gorman Rupp Co., Internal Revenue Service, Maloney and Novotny LLC, Meaden and Moore LTD, Novogradac &Co. LLP, Rea & Associates, Steve Martin’s MDS CPA Review, and The J.M. Smucker Co.
“This event is a wonderful opportunity to meet with professionals especially in the area of accounting,” said Dr. Daniel Fox, Chair of the Accounting and IS department and Assistant Professor of Law. “Meet the Accountant Night is a great way to seek internships and after graduation, full-time positions. Employers that come to this event are recruiting locally but also may give the opportunity to students to work all over the country for a world class organization.”
Out of the 36 representatives that attended, 14 of them were alumni of Ashland University Casey Jirsa was one of those 14 alumni that attended the event representing The J. M. Smucker Co. Jirsa graduated Ashland University in 2007 with his undergraduate degree and in 2011 with his MBA.
“This is Smucker’s third year attending the event and I think it is a fantastic way for the students to network with alumni of Ashland University as well as representatives of world known companies who could potentially become future employers,” said Jirsa.
Many offices throughout the Ashland University campus worked as a team to put together the event for students to give them a chance to explore their options for the future.
“Career services were thrilled with partnering with the other offices on campus to offer an opportunity like this to our students,” said Karen Hagans, executive director for the Career Services Center.
Barnes Wendling CPA is one of the 16 companies that attended the event and has attended since the very beginning. Representatives from this company have given students in the past who have attended this event, internships and they are amazed by the quality of the students and what they have to offer.
“This event is something that all majors on campus should be doing,” said Dr. Khushwant Pittenger, professor of business management. “It gives students a chance to build good relationships with alumni and it is great for freshmen to know their options from the beginning; all around it is a win-win situation.”
Jeffrey Alix, director of alumni and parent relations, attended the event and he also believes the event is a wonderful opportunity for Ashland University students and can open up doors for them, come graduation time.
“I love to see how so many alumni come back and are so involved,” said Alix. “The alumni come back and they make the current students understand the value of their experiences on campus and what it means to them once they have graduated.”
Ashland University’s “Meet the Accountant Night” is an opportunity that should not be taken for granted and should be taken advantage of while students have the chance. This event is highly encouraged for students in the field of accounting to participate. Ashland University has had great turn outs at this event in the past, and is pleased that so many employers and alumnus continue to return to the event every year.
Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) is a mid-sized, private institution conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland, and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.
