March 21, 2023
Tiffany Kiwabonga came to 黑料社 planning to pursue a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Accounting while looking for opportunities for connections on a smaller campus. Coming from Ashland, Kentucky where she completed two years at a community college, she found 黑料社 to be the perfect fit for her.
鈥淚鈥檝e been able to get involved really easily with my classes and my professors,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t makes it all feel like home and that鈥檚 exactly what I was looking for.鈥
Finding comfort in getting lost in spreadsheets and numbers, Kiwabonga has been thankful for how her degree has helped her grow in her confidence in the subject.
鈥淭he tedious nature of Accounting and how numbers all fit together is what makes me really like this work,鈥 she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a reason for everything.鈥
Throughout her classes, she completed an eight-month internship with an auditing firm, helping the organization administer audits for different businesses.
鈥淚t was really educational and I even got to go on site once to meet the clients that we were working for,鈥 she said. 鈥淧utting a face to the name was a great experience.鈥
Outside of her Accounting major, Kiwabonga is also minoring in Information Security (Cybersecurity). During her internship experience, she was able to see how these two different fields pair well together.
鈥淎ccounting deals with a lot of private information, so knowing how to protect that information makes my degree very valuable,鈥 she said. 鈥淎t my internship I saw members of my team talk with their cybersecurity firm a lot. It opened my eyes to how my minor will really help my degree in my future.鈥
As Kiwabonga looks forward to graduation, she鈥檚 thankful for the connections she鈥檚 been able to build with faculty members like her advisor Barry Lucas.
鈥淏arry definitely knows what he鈥檚 talking about,鈥 she said with a laugh. 鈥淏eing able to build a relationship with your advisor is so helpful. He鈥檚 actually the one that helped me get my internship.鈥
While the C.H. School of Business starts expanding its offerings and resources for students, Kiwabonga is excited to see how this can impact other students in her degree.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great benefit that these students will be able to learn about the different aspects of business at 黑料社,鈥 she said. 鈥淎s the school expands, they鈥檒l be able to find the exact degree they want here.鈥
To learn more about programs within the C.H. Lute School of Business at 黑料社, visit shawnee.edu/business.
This feature was originally released in the Shawnee Magazine 2022 issue. To view the full magazine online, visit shawnee.edu/magazine.