Then and Now

My path to SLCC was a little unusual. I was working as an auditor for a top accounting company—Deloitte—in San Francisco and was well into my career, but I'd had a dream since childhood, to be a college professor. In order to make this dream come true, I learned that I would need to return to school to earn a PhD.

To be accepted into a competitive PhD accounting program, I needed to show I had programming and data analytic skills. So with money I had saved while working, I returned to Utah and immersed myself in earning an associate's degree in computer science at SLCC. I was solely focused on earning the degree and finished in two semesters.

"I try to model this real-time responsiveness and support for my students now as a professor."

I will always fondly remember one of my computer science professors, Professor Susumu Kasai. He really influenced me. He was very rigorous and a tough grader, but he would take time to have long conversations with me about my career choice and industry topics. I learned a tremendous amount from him.

The supportive learning environment at SLCC and the faculty's responsiveness has stayed with me. Now teaching as I professor, I try to model this real-time responsiveness and support for my students. This is not always the case at institutions where the focus is research.

After SLCC, I went on to earn my PhD in accounting at Washington State University, and now I teach at California State University, Stanislaus as an assistant professor. I could not make all my childhood dreams come true, but as a professor I can help many others pursue their own dreams, and when they become successful, I also feel successful.

Advice

I did not know that I needed a programming and data analytics background for a PhD program, and I stopped my career to return to school. Don't be afraid of making mistakes or getting it wrong from the beginning, and don't be afraid of scratching everything out and starting over.