杏吧原创

Faculty members have made a 鈥渕onumental鈥� difference for Manning School of Business student Hope Zouzas.

When she switched majors from computer science to business as a sophomore, it was Associate Teaching Professor聽Laura Christianson who identified her knack for numbers and encouraged her to pursue a concentration in accounting.

During her junior year, it was Accounting Professor Khondkar Karim who nominated her for a $15,000 scholarship from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Zouzas submitted the required forms in March and 鈥渇orgot about it鈥� until June, when she learned that she was one of 676 business students from across the country to receive the prestigious award.

鈥淚t was so surprising and nice to win,鈥� says Zouzas, a commuter student from Chelmsford, Massachusetts. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge help financially, and it鈥檚 also very motivating. It shows that people are noticing the work that I鈥檓 putting into school.鈥�

And Zouzas is putting in the work.

In addition to accounting, the Honors College student is concentrating in management information systems 鈥渢o help introduce me to different technologies, like artificial intelligence, so I鈥檓 better equipped for any kind of workplace.鈥�

During tax season, she has worked as a co-op at LGA, LLP and an intern at Schwartz & Schwartz PC.

鈥淚t was interesting to see how the tax department can be so different in different places,鈥� says Zouzas, who shares her experience with other students as vice president of the Accounting Society.

She has also participated in the Manning School鈥檚 Business and Entrepreneur Scholars in Training (Business & Entrepreneur Scholars in Training (BEST)) program. Serving as a research assistant to Associate Professor of Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Denise Dunlap and Ph.D. candidate Lani Faith Gacula, Zouzas investigated the impact of AI and technology on mental health to aid in suicide prevention.

鈥淭hat was a good way to get my feet wet with research, to see if that鈥檚 something I might want to do more of in the future,鈥� says Zouzas, who presented her work at UMass Lowell鈥檚 (UML's) annual Student Research & Community Engagement Symposium.

But right now, Zouzas is focused on a future in public accounting. She already has an internship lined up after graduation at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), working in the Big Four accounting firm鈥檚 digital assurance and transparency department.

Zouzas also plans to continue on for her Master of Business Administration (MBA) (she was accepted to UML's Bachelor鈥檚-to-Master鈥檚 Program) before getting her Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

While navigating a college degree and thinking about the future can feel 鈥渙verwhelming鈥� at times, Zouzas says her professors have made all the difference.

鈥淵ou form a connection with them. You can bounce ideas off them and talk about your career options,鈥� says Zouzas, who credits Christianson鈥檚 guidance in particular. 鈥淪he鈥檚 been monumental in getting me into accounting and believing in myself.鈥�