Soon to be a high school senior, Seth Sherwood faced numerous important decisions last summer. The Morrill, Nebraska, native found help defining his career path by attending Discover Accounting, formerly called Accounting Summit, at the College of Business.
Fares Afshoonkar takes a selfie of Discover Accounting students. Seth Sherwood, center, touches the bottom of the Archie's foot for good luck at Morrill Hall.
“My personal finance teacher told me about the free, two-and-a-half day summer pre-college program. Though I hadn’t taken any accounting classes yet, I had a growing interest. I needed to learn more to see if it fit into my future,” said Sherwood.
Sherwood not only learned about accounting, but also about business and on-campus life at Nebraska. He and his peers compared day-to-day realities of auditors versus public accountants and met professionals at accounting firms, including two of the Big Four, to discuss careers and tour. “The CEOs, partners, accountants and auditors shared about the different routes possible with an accounting degree,” said Fares Afshoonkar, ’17 and ’19 MPA, who helped facilitate the activities.
The high school students worked on various accounting projects and expanded their business skills. Faculty and admissions staff also provided resources and support. “I told Seth that I came to college with zero background in accounting. The things he learned can fuel him to figure out what he wants to do next,” said Afshoonkar, who now works as an auditor at Deloitte in Omaha, Nebraska.
The pre-college program enabled Sherwood to look to the future and be more informed as he considered his career path. “The amount of connections accountants make surprised me and I didn’t know the difference between private and public accounting. Now I know I’d like to try to pursue private accounting,” Sherwood said. “I feel prepared to take the next steps for college.”