This past Saturday I was able to go up to the conference center in Salt Lake to watch the Women's Conference live. This was the first event I'd ever been to at the conference and it was awesome! I was always worried that with there being so many people all around me it would be hard for me to concentrate, but it was just the opposite. It was so fun and I learned a bunch! It made me so excited for General Conference next week!"We are going to do something extraordinary!" ~ Emma Smith
Two weeks ago I started the interview process for next summer internships. What the firms want us to decide as we start the interview process is where we want to end up after graduation. I thought a lot about that this past summer and I was really only considering Las Vegas, Nevada or somewhere in Southern California. After a lot of thought I realized that I don't really want to live in CA, at least not now, maybe when I'm older. So I made my decision...... Las Vegas here I come.
Because of where I wanted to end up I picked 3 accounting firms to interview with: 2 big 4 firms, and a smaller one that is ranked high for working women. I met with Ernst & Young on the 16th, Deloitte on the 18th, and RSM McGladrey on the 23rd. As far as I can tell, all 3 interviews went pretty well. I was pretty nervous for my first inerview, just not knowing what to expect and wanting to do a really good job promoting myself. I'm a fairly talkitive person, so I was lucky to not be too nervous so that I could just be myself and crack jokes and stuff like that.
Now I just wait. I heard that the firms have a deal with BYU to not contact us again till October 2nd, because BYU is one of the first schools the firms meet with. Hopefully I will hear back later on in this week, so look for updates!
School started this week, and luckily it has been pretty uneventful. As of now, as I kinda expect the rest of the semester to be, this year is so much easier than last year. This time last year I was probably crying every night thinking that I was too dumb to be in the Junior Core, and that I should just quit. None of that this year - well, so far so good at least.
Tuesday school started way to early for me at 8 am. Was it a mistake taking an 8 am class... probably, but I didn't have any other options. So the day started with Operations Management. All I need to say about that class is first, that it's definitely not an accounting class, and second, I know the supply chain for milk. After a 3 hour nap, some fun reading, and running some errands, I had my second and final class of the day. In case you're wondering, there is 6 hours between those classes.... sometimes nice, but also maybe a little too much time in between. Anyways, after all that time I went to Organizational Behavior. Also not anything like an accounting class - no tests - but it seems like pretty interesting stuff.
Wednesday was a nice and easy day. Lindsay Owen - the girl from my group winter semester - and I rode up together to Aspen Grove where we had our MAcc orientation all day. It was better than having class, but it was soooo long! After a couple hours of listening to people we had a break for "activities". The activities they planned were things like miniature golf, volleyball,
ultimate frisbee, and other activities kind of like that. Luckily Lindsay and I had the same thought that all we really wanted to do was find somewhere on the grass to lay out and chat. Michelle Miller - a girl from my group this semester, practically the same person as me, as we decided later on in the day - and Jamie Albertson - who was in our classes last year - joined us for "girl talk." We found this awkward blue mat kind of thing that covered some rocks in between where people were playing volleyball and ultimate frisbee. We hung out there till lunch time were the girls, with a few more add-ins, all found a table together. Even the Director from the SOA came over and commented on the segregation he saw at our table. After joking that the few girls there are in the program need to stay to together, we finished lunch and then heading back to the afternoon meeting. Although this one involved some confetti, which I was finding all over the place the rest of that day, it was still pretty long. It was more enjoyable at the beginning due to Michelle and I laughing at everything that was happening during the first speaker. Good times. But after the meeting it was back to Provo with only a few pages of reading for class the next morning.
Thursday classes were pretty uneventful. Operations Management at 8 am, where my group decided that our task for that class was to escape the classroom in case there's ever a fire. This doesn't really make sense explaining it like this, but the assignment was to find something that was our groups mission, so to say, for that class. It was fun. The teacher said we could pick anything we wanted so while most of the other groups picked getting good grades or always being prepared for class, my group went for survival in case of a fire. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna love my group this semester! Later that day in Organization Behavior we had representatives from KPMG, Grant Thorton, Ernest & Young, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers come in and talk to us. There's been something I've wondered about a lot, and so I decided to ask a question. I asked if the firms looked at the fact -or even thought about - that as women, chances our we'll be starting our families in the next couple of years, and if there is any apprehension on the firms part when it comes to hiring someone who maybe won't stay in the work force for every long. Well, this question apparently hit home, because the recruiter from E & Y was tearing up as she said that is not a factor and she doesn't want any women to ever think of that as a hindrance to their careers. Then the women from KPMG said that she had just had a baby in December and that she was able to take 6 months off of work and that a lot of the firms have a flexible hour program to work with balancing both home and work life. It was nice to hear their answers, but I was kinda laughing at myself, because I am probably the person in the room that is least like to be starting a family anytime in the near future. I also felt a little bad about almost making the one lady cry.
Later that night we had meet the firms, where representatives from over 30 firms came to talk to us about the different opportunities and functions of their company. I know that I want to live in Las Vegas, Nevada after graduation so I was interested in talking to the firms that have tax practices in Vegas. I ended up talking to Deloitte, Ernest & Young, and a smaller firm called McGladrey & Pullen (who apparently has a great reputation for working well with mothers, balancing schedules). I was pretty excited about all the firms I talked with and can't wait to talk to them more. I hope I get an internship for next summer, that's the goal and I'm sending in all my applications by tomorrow, so fingers crossed!!!!
Today, Friday, was a pretty chill day. I had a tax research class this morning and my professor seems pretty cool. He does this little dance when he gets excited about whatever he's saying and it's pretty funny! Even though that will most likely be my most difficult class I also think it will be pretty fun. After that I had a lecture class where the chairman of the board for Deloitte & Touche came and talked to us about ethics. I thought it was a pretty good lecture, especially for something we have drilled into us again and again here at BYU. After that I worked on my resume, which after hours of work was accidentally closed without being saved - yeah, just a little frustrating. Anyways I'm about to redo it right now, but thought I should update my awesome blog about the first week of the MAcc program. All in all, I actually feel like I might actually fit into this accounting world, but then again, it is only the first week...
