I Did It My Way

I Did It My Way
From Dropout to Head of the Class, Scholarship Recipient Has Found Her Calling

By Sanjay Paranandi, Public Relations Specialist

While in her mid-teens, Rebecca Patterson quit going to school. Now 32, she is an accounting major at Siena College and a two-time recipient of the New York State Society of CPAs’ Excellence in Accounting Scholarship. Patterson’s transformation from high school dropout to academic overachiever and aspiring CPA is a real-life testament to the power of perseverance.

It’s said that the path to success is marked by a series of failures. Though far from failures, Patterson has had her share of detours. A year after leaving high school—in which she was a good student but was deterred by the battery of rules and cliques of students—she studied for and received her GED (general equivalency diploma), which allowed her to attend, though sporadically, a couple of community colleges. The classes failed to hold Patterson’s interest for very long, and, acknowledging that she “did not put much effort into it,” she stopped going.

Patterson eventually took a full-time job at an automotive repair shop. It was there that she managed the office staff and did the company’s bookkeeping—a responsibility that perhaps first planted the seeds of a future career in accounting.

Drawn to the financial aspects of her job, Patterson made what later proved to be a fateful decision in August 1998 and signed up for a night class in accounting at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie. It was the right move.

“I loved it,” Patterson said of the class. “I really enjoy the detailed nature of accounting.”

Her natural talent and affinity for the work compelled Patterson to continue going part time at Dutchess, where, in 2001, she earned her associate’s degree in accounting.

A semester at Pace University and full-time employment at a CPA’s office followed, but Patterson eventually found her way to Siena in Loudonville, where she could complete her bachelor’s in accounting.

Patterson will graduate from Siena in May of this year. To her fellow students, Patterson says, she is either regarded as a wonderful resource whose real-life experiences and scholastic abilities are in high demand, or viewed as someone who asks too many questions and “messes up the curve” for others. But Patterson doesn’t let any sniping or pettiness bother her.

“I am there to get my money’s worth and then some,” she says. “I am so appreciative of this opportunity to finally finish my education.”

In addition to love and support from her family, friends and professors, grants and endowed scholarships from Siena, as well as the Society scholarship, which Patterson received in 2002 and 2003, have played a huge part in helping “take a lot of the pressure off,” thus helping to ensure that she can realize her academic and professional vision.

Easing the Burden

Created in 1990, the NYSSCPA Excellence in Accounting Scholarship fund provides financial assistance to encourage and aid deserving candidates like Patterson to enter the accounting profession. Supported by member contributions, over the years the fund has helped hundreds of accounting students pursue their education.

The scholarship is $1,500 per academic year for full-time study (split into a $750 award for each semester) and $750 for part-time study (split into a $375 award for each semester).

An associate student member of the NYSSCPA’s Northeast Chapter, Patterson also received a matching donation of $1,500 from Camico, the Society-endorsed professional liability insurance carrier. This is the first time Camico has awarded the supplemental scholarship.

“I really love being back in school. I never thought I would ever feel that way,” says Patterson, who hasn’t received lower than an A-minus grade since returning to school in 1998. “I think it’s because I love what I’m studying.”

Patterson’s love of accounting and her commitment to its academic rigors has landed her a position with Teal Becker and Chiaramonte CPAs P.C. in Albany, where she will begin working in June. Coinciding with her new job, Patterson will be kept especially busy studying for the CPA exam.

Scholarly Info

To qualify for the scholarship, college students must have declared accounting as their major, have completed at least 60 semester credits, and maintain a 3.0 grade point average. Students can renew the scholarship provided that they continue to meet all eligibility requirements. The Society will fund up to five years of study for students enrolled in a 150-hour program.

The NYSSCPA and its Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE) encourage Society chapters and members to inform college students about the Excellence in Accounting Scholarship. The Society sends applications to accounting departments, accounting clubs and financial aid offices each January. This year’s applications must be submitted by April 1, 2004.

To read more about eligibility requirements and access the application online, go to www.nysscpa.org and click on “Site Map” at the top of the page and then on the “College Students” link under the “Future CPAs” banner. Or contact Joyce Lewis at 212-719-8379 or jlewis@nyss-cpa.org with questions.

The scholarship fund is administered by the FAE, the Society’s 501(c)(3) foundation. A check should be made payable to the Foundation for Accounting Education and sent to Joyce Lewis, NYSSCPA, 530 Fifth Ave., fifth floor, New York, NY 10036.