Vidya Mohanraj
As my time at The University of Texas at Dallas comes to an end, I have found myself reflecting over the past five years. My undergraduate and graduate experiences at UT Dallas have left me with some pretty great memories and some lessons that I had to learn the hard way. Here are some thoughts that I have for an incoming UT Dallas student who would like to learn more about our Bachelor’s and Master’s in Accounting programs and my journey at UT Dallas.
Not only was I able to learn about some incredible initiatives in the community, but I also was able to build relationships with people who cared about my journey and commitment to learning, both inside and outside my major.
Finding Your Support System
As you navigate college life, you will encounter ups and downs that you will want to share with people who can relate to your struggles or support you through them. These people can be your co-workers, roommates, classmates or familiar faces from orientation. An on-campus job in particular is a great way to build stronger bonds with your peers. I found my own support system at the Office of Student Volunteerism on campus.
I spent a majority of my undergrad years working at the Office of Student Volunteerism, where I was able to connect the student body at UT Dallas to nonprofit organizations across the DFW area. Not only was I able to learn about some incredible initiatives in the community, but I also was able to build relationships with people who cared about my journey and commitment to learning, both inside and outside my major.
Finding Your Passions
Being at a university opens the door to many possibilities — so many possibilities that at times, there are simply too many choices. You can get overwhelmed and maybe not take any action at all. Instead, approach your choices with a strategy. My strategy was to try out several organizations during my first semester and stick with the ones that resonated with me. Accounting Leadership Association (ALA) was one of the organizations where I contributed my time all throughout my undergrad and grad years at UTD.
ALA gave me the chance to learn more about my chosen degree and get to know others who had chosen the same career path. There were also a wide range of upperclassmen and graduate students who were happy to answer any questions and concerns that I had. Through ALA, I got to be a part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, where I completed tax returns for qualifying families during tax season. I also led the organization as the community service chair and developed a relationship between ALA and the Dallas CPA Society, Goodwill and the North Texas Food Bank.
Finding Your Mentors
As an undergraduate accounting student, there are several ways that you can formally find a mentor. There is the university-wide Freshman Mentor Program, as well as the Transfer Mentor Program, where you can be paired with an upperclassman who has the same major as you and can guide you throughout your first year at UT Dallas. There is also the Bachelor’s in Accounting Peer-to-Peer Mentoring program whose mentors are trained to act as program ambassadors and are involved on campus in a variety of ways. And as a graduate accounting student, you can reach out to an Master’s in Accounting Ambassador for assistance with your resume, interviewing tips and life in JSOM.
As a mentee-turned-mentor in all the programs listed above, I definitely encourage you to utilize these invaluable resources. The mentors consist of upperclassmen and professionals who always have words of wisdom to impart, and they are always there for students who need them.
I would also recommend for you to be on the lookout for workshops and conferences. I attended the AICPA Accounting Scholars Leadership Workshop in the summer of 2019 and found so many people who were actively looking for ways to help students find their way to becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). All of the attendees were incredibly motivated by the professionals who had taken the time to address our insecurities, help us approach the CPA exam and guide us toward the career path that best suited us.
Finding Your Career
Whether or not you feel ready for the professional accounting world, it is always good to prepare. There are a variety of ways to begin looking for your dream job, but if you are an undergraduate student, one of the ways that you can go about finding your dream job is through the Professional Program in Accounting (PPA).
PPA is a five-year program designed to place you in a cohort and prepare you for the CPA exam and a career in public accounting. I applied for PPA at the very beginning of my junior year and joined a group of incredibly motivated students who have become an unwavering support system over the years. With the help of PPA, not only did I find my career, but I also found faculty and staff who were more than happy to help me with the journey to my chosen career path.
UT Dallas has been my home for a while now, and while I am finding it difficult to close the door on this chapter of my life, I will always have the perspective and character that UTD helped me build. If you are considering UT Dallas to be your future home, or if you are already here, and would like to chat, please feel free to send me a message on LinkedIn! Whoosh!
Related Links:
Office of Student Volunteerism
Bachelor’s in Accounting Peer Mentor Program (Peer-to-Peer Mentoring)
Master’s in Accounting Student Ambassadors
AICPA Accounting Scholars Leadership Workshop