Affordability wasn鈥檛 Sarah Curley鈥檚 top priority when choosing a college. It was her only priority.
鈥淯Mass Lowell was solely a financial decision,鈥� says the honors听accounting student from Salem, Massachusetts. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 go to a school that I can鈥檛 afford, so I didn鈥檛 really look at all the different aspects of the university 鈥� just financial.鈥�
Four years later, Curley 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 imagine going anywhere else.鈥�
鈥淚 am honestly shocked by all the opportunities I鈥檝e had to travel, earn scholarships and make great connections,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 came to realize that UMass Lowell is affordable and a great school.鈥�
Best of all, Curley has a full-time job waiting for her as an associate at accounting firm RSM in Boston after graduation.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to have that locked in. I don鈥檛 have to worry about that now,鈥� says Curley, who worked as an audit intern at RSM the summer before her senior year 鈥� an experience that sparked her interest in auditing.
鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 more personable. You get to talk to clients, and you鈥檙e not doing the same thing every day,鈥� says Curley, who was excited to take an auditing course following the internship. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much more to learn.鈥�
After starting college remotely during the pandemic, Curley hasn鈥檛 taken her time at UML for granted. She is president of Joy Tong Women in Business, vice president of the Accounting Society, a member of several honor societies and has played two club sports, rugby and soccer. She also works as an office assistant to the dean in the Manning School of Business.
At the encouragement of her accounting professors, Curley applied for, and received, a $5,000 MassCPA scholarship that was sponsored by RSM. She also won a scholarship from the Boston chapter of Financial Executives International.
鈥淲ithout that support from faculty, I wouldn鈥檛 have known about the scholarships,鈥� she says.
With help from the dean鈥檚 office, Curley has also been able to attend Institute of Management Accountants conferences in Pittsburgh and Austin, Texas.
鈥淚 talk to friends at other schools and they鈥檙e like, 鈥榃ait, you鈥檙e going to a conference?鈥� The opportunity presented itself, and I applied,鈥� says Curley, who also studied abroad in Madrid, Spain, with the Honors College, an experience that 鈥渃hanged me so much.鈥�
Curley is already working on her M.S. in Accounting through the Bachelor鈥檚-to-Master鈥檚 Program. She also plans to take the CPA exam as she starts her career at RSM.
鈥淏efore I came to UMass Lowell, I was undeclared and had no clue what I was doing,鈥� Curley says. 鈥淏ut now, I鈥檓 leaving, and I feel like I know exactly what I鈥檓 going to do.鈥�