PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Newark, New Jersey graduate student Harun A. Jones’ ultimate career goal is to open up his own accounting firm to help small business owners. Armed with a bachelor’s in business administration and, come this spring, a master’s in accounting, both from Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), these degrees will help this first-generation college student get there in no time.
Harun Jones ’21
“[Graduating with my master’s degree this semester is] an accomplishment that I will share with my mother,” Jones said. “All of her hard work and effort, to instill in me the desire to advance my education, has paid off. She was able to position me to take advantage of opportunities that would take me further in life.”
As an undergraduate student, Jones was involved in multiple student organizations on campus, which helped set the stage for his future endeavors. He served as a member and historian of the then S.I.F.E. (Students in Free Enterprise), now known as Enactus. Jones also served as interim president of the F.D.L.I. (Frederick Douglass Leadership Institute). “F.D.L.I. had been inactive prior to the faculty advisor and me reviving it on campus,” he said. As a graduate student, Jones is a member of PVAMU’s chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants. “I also currently hold the honor and privilege of serving as president of the university’s Beta Alpha Psi chapter.” Beta Alpha Psi is an international honor organization for financial information students and professionals.
“My PV experience was enhanced as a result of being a part of the aforementioned organizations, as I had the opportunity to grow my professional network and gain insight into what is ahead of me post-graduation,” Jones said. “I was also able to participate in and organize community service activities that I otherwise would not have had the organizing capacity to pull off by myself. More importantly, I was able to gain experience compiling data and reports for presentation purposes, a skill that will certainly continue to benefit me in my professional career.”
Jones’ efforts outside of schoolwork did not stop with student organizations. He held two prestigious internships – one with the Astros Golf Foundation and another with Chicago accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP.
“These internships have helped me apply my theoretical knowledge in practical situations,” he said. “I’ve also had the opportunity to know which area of accounting I receive the most enjoyment from.”
Jones’ next step will be earning his license as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), “because it is the most prestigious achievement within the accounting profession,” he said. “Additionally, having a CPA license, plus years of experience, will further equip me to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams.”
Even without having a CPA license, Jones already has several career offers waiting for him with some of the top accounting firms in the U.S.
“I have recently accepted an offer to join one of the big four accounting firms, Deloitte & Touché LLP,” he said. “With starting as an audit and assurance associate, I am looking forward to studying for and passing the uniform CPA exam on my first attempt.”
Jones’ confidence can be attributed, in part, to the “tremendous” faculty in PVAMU’s College of Business.
“The faculty here are dedicated to student achievement,” he said. “The MSA (Master of Science in Accounting) program has a host of professors with practical experience in the accounting industry, and they have helped me understand how to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom,” he said. “I am looking forward to representing our fine university at one of the top accounting firms in the nation.”
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