Over 400 students from 15 high schools participated in King’s College Accounting Career Day on Thursday, October 30th. In partnership with the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs (PICPA), King’s was one of four colleges to host an Accounting Career Day across the state to teach high school students about the different career paths and opportunities available in the accounting profession.
The day began with inspirational words from keynote speaker Ryan Donovan ’11, CISA, CIA, CPA, enterprise engineering compliance and project management lead at Stack AV. The students then attended a discussion with professional speakers who shared stories of their various careers and valuable insights into the profession. The day concluded with a panel of current King’s students sharing their academic and internship experiences. The sessions were held across campus in the Scandlon Physical Education Center and Sheehy-Farmer Campus Center.
The professional speakers were King’s alumni Kellie (Kopko) Bertolet ’17, WMS™, audit supervisor at WSFS Bank, Ryan Hinkle ’25, CSA at Morgan Stanley; Mikayla Kidd ’22, CPA, senior assurance associate at Baker Tilly; Emma Lehman ‘21, CPA, senior associate at PwC; Kailey (Orzechowski) Gustinucci ‘21, senior associate at Kearney & Company and Kyle Osterhoudt ‘21, senior associate at KPMG.
The student panelists were Melanie Baldwin van Meer, Luke Brink, Sean Forrest, Khalil Khan, Zander Kraklio (Accounting Association President), Darlene Nunez, Nathan Stilp, and Jake Ulmer.
“We’re thrilled to welcome so many high school students to campus and introduce them to the dynamic world of accounting,” said Dr. Jessica Evanko, CPA, associate professor in the College’s Kearney & Company Department of Accounting. “Our goal is to help them see the value of an accounting education and the wide range of opportunities available in this rapidly evolving profession. We hope the stories they hear today spark curiosity and inspire them to consider accounting as a future career path.
The following high schools were in attendance for the event: Abington Heights, Berwick, Blue Mountain, Central Columbia, Crestwood, Delaware Valley, Hazleton Area, Holy Cross, Holy Redeemer, Honesdale, Pittston Area, Tunkhannock, Wallenpaupack, Wilkes-Barre Area, and Wyoming Valley West.
