PVAMU’s accounting department in the College of Business has several students that were recently offered summer internships and/or full-time positions that could serve as stepping stones for their long-term careers.

The accounting firms, most commonly referred to as “The Big 4”, are the largest (by size, revenue, and market share) and most prestigious audit, tax, and professional service firms in the world. The Big 4 Accounting firms include Deloitte Touche, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG), and two of them (KPMG and PwC) have recruited the most of this group of students.

These students and their appointments are as follows:

Asia Brown- PwC Audit (Dallas office)  

Amber Diehl – KPMG Audit (Houston office)

Jasmine Bautista – KPMG Tax (Houston office)

Justin Reuterman – KPMG Audit (Houston office)

Tisharra Thompson  – KPMG Audit (Houston office)

Jada Green – Boeing – Finance Group (St. Louis, MO) – Spring 2019

Jocelyn Eusery – KPMG Audit (Houston Office), full-time offer – Fall 2019

Sandra Sandoval – Grant Thornton (Houston Office) full-time offer – Fall 2019

Kayla Hines – Bank of America – Internal Audit (Dallas, TX)

Kylah Ferrell – PwC Audit (Dallas office) – (Also current president of PVAMU’s NABA chapter; interned with Goldman Sachs NY Summer 2018)

“This will be the second internship that I’ve gotten through the NABA chapter, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to be exposed to the corporate culture of accounting, apply the skills I’ve learned through my degree program, and determine what I like and don’t like and what I want in my future workplace,” Ferrell said. “I will be doing the internship after graduating from PVAMU, so once I finish it, I’m aiming to obtain my master’s in accounting and sit for the CPA exam to hopefully get a full-time job in the field.”

“Considering this will be my third internship during my time in undergrad, I hope this internship leads to a full-time position,” Diehl said.

“This internship is very significant to me, because I’m in my junior year and haven’t done an internship before this one,” Brown said. “This internship will help me gain experience and help me get a foot in the door, helping me toward my future career goals of starting out in auditing and eventually starting a nonprofit and work on an invention. Accounting is the basis of business, and once you know how to do that you can run a business, so I’m grateful for this opportunity to learn the ropes and get started.”

“We seem to be building our presence at these two firms in particular (KPMG and PwC), and I attribute this pipeline mostly to the fact PVAMU has representation at the highest level in each firm,” said Clyde McNeil, CPA, CIA Accounting Faculty and Coordinator EMBA Capstone Projects, PVAMU College of Business. “This is in addition to the number of faculty who go over and beyond to nurture and prepare our students for these opportunities. Nonetheless, hopefully we can continue to strengthen this pipeline.”

McNeil noted that these internship offers come in addition to those returning for second summer internships and/or spring (busy season) internships, which include:

Darell Bratton – PwC Audit (Houston office)

Elonye Ware – PwC Audit (Chicago office)

Bianca Henderson – KPMG Audit (Houston office)

Additionally, the following accounting students were offered internships with Boeing:

Franterric Powell – Boeing – Supply Chain (Seattle, WA)

Rodney Washington – Boeing – Finance Group (Seattle, WA)

McNeil noted that past alumni who have worked at these firms started sitting for and were able to complete their CPA exams relatively soon after or before starting at the firms.

“This is something hopefully we can continue to reiterate to our accounting students as a ‘must do,’” McNeil said. “Through our accounting program, we’ve managed to create what’s becoming a sustainable pipeline into these firms which includes partnering with our alumni currently working at the firms, grooming our students from researching what ‘Big 4’ are, through the interview process all the way to completion of their internships. Last year, we had a really strong core of students who experienced similar success, with some of whom are currently being sponsored by the firms as they pursue masters degrees in some of the top graduate programs in the country.”

“In addition to us partnering with our alumni, and the efforts of our faculty, much of this success has been fostered through our partnership with the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) which is a nonprofit membership association dedicated to bridging the opportunity gap for black professionals in the accounting, finance, and related business professions,” McNeil said.

NABA hosts a regional student conference each year, which allows students an opportunity to interview for internships and permanent positions and attend tailored workshops, seminars, and interview sessions designed to better prepare minority students for careers in accounting and business-related disciplines. Additionally, NABA has student chapters on more than 150 campuses across the country.

“Our PVAMU student chapter has been led by some amazing students over the years and has really helped nurture a number of students through college and into their professional careers,” McNeil said.

“This internship really means a lot to me, as I’m a first-generation non-traditional student, in my family, having started out at Blinn and Lone Star Colleges before coming to PVAMU,” Bautista said. “I’m grateful to have gotten this opportunity through NABA and I’m looking forward to learning key skills at KPMG before hopefully entering a masters program and sitting for my CPA exam.”

“The accounting program is one of the strongest programs in the College of Business, and with faculty members such as Professor Clyde McNeil, that program continues to make a name for itself,” said Munir Quddus, Ph.D., Dean, College of Business, PVAMU. “Once these students complete their internships at these high-level accounting firms, their presence will provide an easier pathway to the next generation of students. This is why I appreciate the work of our professional and dedicated faculty for their help in placing our students in internships which often lead to full-time employment.”

McNeil also provided professional updates for the following recent PVAMU graduates:

Antoinette Joseph (Recent graduate – Spring 2018 and past president of the PVAMU student NABA chapter started full time with Deloitte – Tax September 2018 (interned with PwC – NY Summers 2016 and 2017)

Adrienne Seibert (Recent graduate – Spring 2018 and past president of the PVAMU student NABA chapter) – Started graduate school Masters in Audit and Data Analytics – USC – Levanthall School of Accountancy (will start full time with KPMG in 2019. Started in KPMG’s Leadership Development Program as a sophomore)

Rebekah Preston (Recent graduate – Spring 2018 and past executive board member) – Started graduate school Masters in Taxation and Data Analytics – Ole Miss ( Fully paid for by KPMG) – multiple internships with KPMG during her undergraduate years.

By Emilia Benton