Mayte Dingman possesses a contagious enthusiasm for accounting. Whether in the classroom, visiting professors, meeting her advisor or even working in the finance office for the U.S. Air Force, accounting fires her up. Although she started on her accounting major a few years later than most of her classmates, her commitment to serve helps drive her to get her degree.
 
“It may sound silly, but I’ve had my mind set on accounting since high school,” said Dingman, a junior originally from Phoenix. “I took an accounting class and was just a natural. I would finish before classmates and then could help other students with their work.”
 
Financial difficulties made it hard for her to pay for community college early on, so she dropped out and worked full-time at an accounting firm. Then a friend told her the military would be an avenue to help fund her degree.
 
“After looking at the branches, I felt the Air Force would challenge my intellect and I ended up fitting in great. I met my husband, who is also in the Air Force, and moved to Nebraska to be with him five years ago,” she said.
 
In addition to military service, the couple have two daughters, and Dingman also holds the position of treasurer in the Student Veterans Organization. Nevertheless, she still finds time to help out when classmates struggle with accounting problems.
 
Jina Morris, MPA coordinator and assistant professor of practice, witnesses Dingman putting in the hard work to make helping others possible.
 
“If Mayte didn’t know something, she would come in my office and get her head wrapped around the subject matter. She did that at the beginning of the semester rather than waiting for an exam to go badly. Then, she always sat in the front of class and helped other students with the material,” said Morris.
 
Dingman enrolled at Nebraska in the spring of 2018. Her initial hesitation about attending a big university soon evaporated.
 
“The first semester I wondered if I could do it. As long as I put in the effort, I found the professors helped guide me. They are very approachable and want to learn about their students. The tutoring in the Teaching and Learning Center shows they want people to succeed. It’s been a phenomenal experience at Nebraska,” she said.
 
Ashley Wegener, business advising and student engagement program coordinator and academic advisor, worked with Dingman to get her community college credit hours transferred.
 
“Mayte knew what she wanted to accomplish and is always gung-ho about getting it done,” said Wegener. “She does a great job balancing academics with her family and military. We also talk about earning her CPA and her next steps.”
 
After graduation, Dingman plans to pursue an MPA at Nebraska. She believes it can be a springboard to wherever her career takes her.
 
“I put a lot of thought into where I wanted to go to school,” said Dingman. “I decided on Nebraska because I wanted that prestige – when someone sees where I graduated, they say, ‘Wow, that’s a good school!’ Nebraska was the best choice for me.”