WHY WEBER?

"My grandpa was a coach at Utah State University, so it was Weber or Utah State."  When making the decision, Vanessa had to weigh several factors including academics, scholarships and location.  "I was offered a way better scholarship at Weber, and the class sizes were really small," those two factors ended up convincer her to come WSU.

WHY ACCOUNTING?

"I was the most undecisive person on the planet," Vanessa recalls of her path to accounting.  After taking classes from nearly every subject including medical, business and everything in between, one of the professors, Bill Bailey made a big influence on her decision.  She really liked structure, was good with numbers and decided that accounting was for her. 

ACTIVITIES AT WEBER?

"I never thought I could be the president of a club, but here, I can!"  Vanessa is the 2017 president of the Beta Alpha Psi (BAP), accounting club.  

Becoming involved in the club has helped her in many ways, "My resume was nothing before joining BAP, I had no experience, no accounting references or volunteer service.  BAP has also given me networking opoprtunities with bigger firms.  Here, as students, we get to mingle with influential people long before we interview with them. So when we do go in for interviews, they already know us."

Because of her connections in the classroom, Vanessa landed an internship at a smaller local accounting firm where she isn't just a paper shuffler, she is getting hands-on experience with acutal auditing and taxes, something she says would never be given to an intern at a larger firm.

INCREDIBLE ACCESS

"I get to spend so much time with my advisors Lisa and Loisanne.  I even went on a plane with them to Washington D.C., Baltimore and Denver.  They became almost like a parent to me.  They really do want us to succeed, they care about us personally! If I were at another school, there's no way I would have this opportunity, there are hundreds of students competing for these few positions."

ADVICE

Vanessa raved at her access and opportunities she's had by getting involved early and recommends involvement to everyone, no matter the age or degree.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

In her last year of undergraduate studies, Vanessa will finish out the year as the president of Beta Alpha Psi.  She hopes to get in with a large firm in order to get lots of experience while she is young.  And then... "I want to get a CPA and go on to the Master of Accounting program here at Weber."