[Opening music.]
[Anne Mendelsohn MAC2016]
I graduated from the University of Sydney,
two years ago, and after getting my
degree, I didn't really know what I
wanted to do. So, I started working for
the Boys & Girls Club. A non-profit,
they're usually understaffed. Cost
constraint is a huge deal for them, so if
you can have someone who understands, not only how business works, but how funding
a business works, and how to actually
segregate duties and apply some of the
audit techniques that we're learning in
this program, I guess it just enables you
to function better as a non-profit. I was
an anthropology and history major
straight out of high school, but I didn't
know what field I wanted to end up in.
I knew I wanted to learn. I wanted to gain
an understanding of like the broader
world around me, but I had no specific
skill set in mind. I think my background
in anthropology and history has really
helped in terms of analyzing situations.
In history and anthropology, we learn a lot
to analyze the information we're given.
You're not just telling a story, but
you're analyzing the situation, and in
accounting, it's the exact same way.
You're not just looking at the facts
you're given, but you're understanding
how to apply them to the business world.
Well, the first month is really intense,
and you're really pushed to your limits,
and you're encountering all these people
with different backgrounds. Some people
have a better grasp on the information
because they had business degrees
beforehand. Some people, like me, had no
idea what was going on. They were just
kind of holding on and challenging
themselves, but you get there in the end,
and you kind of use the people who have
a greater understanding to begin with to
push yourself up to their level,
Everybody here is so clever and so
brilliant and they're great people to
just push off of. My experience with
recruiting was very, very satisfying. I am
going to work in San Francisco this year
in September. I had three office visits
out in the West Coast. I ended up getting
a couple offers and I chose to go with a
mid-market firm, Grant Thornton.
In the future, in 10, 20 years, I could be
doing a slew of things. I have no idea
what I will be doing. I could be, because
I'm going to San Francisco, I could be
working for a start-up. I could be
working for a big tech company. I could
stay with Grant Thornton and be a
partner in the firm. I've got no idea, but
I know any of them are possible at
this point.
[Closing music.]
