The Journey of Education

   

Artistic representation of me trying to navigate my college years

         I feel my job history is best described as the drifting of a sailboat being pushed across the waves by the wind. In other words, it did not have a heading or clear direction when I set sail during my college years. I entered my freshman year of college with very little understanding as to what to do with my life. Unlike some of my siblings, I hadn't found my calling or interests when I was trying to pick out colleges and what degree to pursue. I chose general studies as my degree program when I was earning my associate degree from Quinsigamond community college, and there I discovered the field of accounting.  As one of my electives, I took an introductory accounting course. The systems of determining journal entries and balancing debits and credits made sense to me and came naturally to my understanding, so I decided to take another accounting course, and wouldn't you know it? I switched majors to Business Administration and went on to take more accounting courses, transferring to Worcester State University to earn my BA in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting. 

        During my school days, I also stumbled across a local volunteer service where one can prepare tax returns for low-income members of the community, known as VITA. I volunteered there for two tax seasons and through that was able to obtain a paid position helping a local CPA with his small practice as a junior tax preparer. I worked there for another two tax seasons while finishing up my undergrad degree and then was able to get hired due to my job experience at S&G, LLP. a mid-sized public accounting firm. I currently still work at S&G, LLP, as a team accountant/administrative assistant thanks to my ability to talk with members of the public that I obtained from my time volunteering at VITA. 

        What is the throughline for this short story? I never knew what the next step of my career or schooling would be when I took it, and I ended up somewhere where I am happy doing work that I like. Will I continue to prepare tax returns for the public for the rest of my career? Do I know what the next 40 years of my life will look like? I am honestly not sure, but the biggest lesson I learned from my undergraduate degree was not how to balance a balance sheet, but that sometimes it's best to let the winds and waves take you places you never planned to go. Because that's where you were ultimately meant to be.