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One-on-One Support Leads Sherwood to Select Major

High School Students Attend Accounting Summit
One-on-One Support Leads Sherwood to Select Major
Seth Sherwood (center) works with other students and Jill Trucke, assistant professor of practice in accountancy, on an inventory project.
A rising high school senior, Seth Sherwood faces numerous important decisions from college choice to career path. The Morrill, Nebraska, native defined his path when he attended the Accounting Summit at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business, May 29-31.
 
“My personal finance teacher told me about this opportunity to attend the summit. I haven’t taken any accounting classes yet. I’ve had a growing interest in accounting, but I needed to learn more to see if it fit into my future,” said Sherwood.
 
Sherwood needed to understand what the accounting profession looks like in real life so he could better plan for his future. He applied and was selected for the third annual summit, where he could learn more about accounting, business and life on-campus at Nebraska in the free two-and-a-half-day program. He connected with one of the program’s student assistants, Fares Afshoonkar, ’18 and ’19, who helped facilitate the summit’s activities and lived in University Suites with the participating students during the program.
 
“He was the first to greet me when I walked in the door. Since then, we’ve had several conversations and we clicked,” said Sherwood.
 
Fares Afshoonkar, ’18 and ’19, takes a selfie with Accounting Summit students during a scavenger hunt around campus.
Fares Afshoonkar, ’18 and ’19, takes a selfie with Accounting Summit students during a scavenger hunt around campus.
One of the biggest, ongoing conversations at the summit explored careers by comparing day-to-day realities of auditors versus public accountants. Students met with professionals at accounting firms, including two of the Big Four firms, to discuss their careers and tour each employer.
 
“They met with accountants and auditors to CEOs and partners. They saw the different routes you can take with an accounting degree and now realize the amount of opportunities and the number of doors that open up with this degree,” said Afshoonkar.
 
In addition to meeting with professionals, students spent their time working on various accounting projects and learning some business basics. They also learned the ins and outs about a college career in accounting at Nebraska and met various accounting faculty and admissions representatives who provided them with resources and support.
 
“I told Seth that I came to college with zero background in accounting. He is intensely curious, and the things he learned this week can fuel him to figure out what he wants to do,” said Afshoonkar, who after earning his undergraduate and master’s degree in accounting at Nebraska will start his job as a first-year auditor at Deloitte in Omaha, Nebraska this summer.
 
The pre-college program enabled Sherwood to look to the future and seriously consider his career path. He found he had only scratched the surface of knowing what those who study accounting do with their degrees.
 
“The amount of connections they make with people surprised me. I also didn’t know the difference between private and public accounting. Knowing what I know now, I believe I’d like to try to pursue private accounting,” Sherwood said. “I feel like I’ve been prepared to take the next steps. I have to keep going down the course that I am.”
 
To learn more about the School of Accountancy, visit: https://business.unl.edu/accounting.
Published: June 13, 2019