From Struggle to Success

Thinking back on my senior year of high school, I thought I had it all figured out. I was a three-sport athlete who was offered a Division I soccer scholarship, received multiple academic scholarships, and was ready to move on in life. Little did I know that all of that would soon change.

Division 1 soccer ended up not being what I thought it was. Everything was great; I was starting every game, enjoying my classes and making friends. That soon changed when our team couldn’t win a single game after they were the conference champions the season before. The team environment soon turned bad, and I quickly realized that this was not what I wanted to do or where I wanted to be anymore. Then things got even worse when I got mono. Overall, it was an extremely depressing first semester away at college.

Finally at Thanksgiving break, I told my parents that I wanted to transfer. I knew that the coach from Washington & Jefferson College told me that he would always have a spot for me on his team, and he wasn’t kidding. I soon transferred to W&J the spring semester of my freshman year, never looking back on my old school. What I thought was the worst experience of my life ended up helping me become a stronger person. W&J was where I fell in love with the accounting program, and I was able to get involved with a lot more than soccer. I joined a sorority, where I held multiple finance leadership positions, became an editor for the school newspaper, and became a member of different clubs and honor societies. Through W&J’s amazing Career Services office and Accounting Department, I was able to find Schneider Downs. I would never have gotten the same opportunities at my old school, and I am grateful that my terrible freshman experience brought me to where I am today.

Now that I am almost to the end of my internship, I am even more grateful that W&J gave me the opportunity to get in contact with such a great company. I have loved every second of my internship, from meeting different people, doing the work, and joining the company soccer team. I have made so many great friends, from the other interns to staff in the company. Getting to work on jobs with a variety of clients and multiple staff members this summer has helped me realize that I want to go into the auditing field. I have gained so much knowledge in such a short time being here, and I am grateful to have had this amazing opportunity at Schneider Downs.

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