Speaker: Malayna Pottschmidt
Malayna Pottschmidt: Hello everyone. My name is Malayna Pottschmidt and I was a part of the Indiana CPA Society Scholars program in 2015 to 2016. I recently graduated from Butler University with an accounting degree and I am back again for the Masters of Professional Accounting graduate program.
What is the most valuable part of the INCPAS Scholars program?
Malayna Pottschmidt: I received a lot of great advice and without this program I would not be on my path to becoming a CPA. But something that really struck me when I read this question was some advice that I received from my mentor when I was a part of the Scholars program. I was trying to decide what university I wanted to go to and she ended up telling me this, and it's in Spanish. El que es perico donde quiera es verde. It basically means that a parrot is green no matter where it goes. And to me that kind of translated to no matter where a person goes, whatever circumstances they might be in, as long as they stay true to their values and they're a hard worker, they will succeed, no matter their circumstances. So that's something that really stuck
Where are you interning and what excites you the most about your experience?
Malayna Pottschmidt: I am interning at RSM, the fifth largest accounting firm in the US. And I am interning in tax compliance for businesses, such as C corps, pass throughs and individuals. And there is a whole lot about this experience that excites me. Firstly, I love tax. I know that's a very nerdy thing to say but the ever changing environment of tax and the problem solving nature of it really gets me excited to log in every day, go to work and work with my team on different compliance projects. I'm always learning something new and that just keeps me engaged in the work that I'm doing. I also love the people that I work with so that helps a lot. I'm always excited to go to work because I get to basically hang out with people who are like minded and who are passionate about the same things as I am. And additionally, I also am excited because I have this experience, two experiences actually, that typically aren't offered to interns. One of them is that I am a co-leader of our Indianapolis Pride employee network group for LQBTQ+ individuals. And I also get to work on the Butler campus recruiting team for RSM. So these are a few things I'm really excited about right now and I'm passionate about the work that I do.
What was the biggest contributing factor to your success in graduating from college?
Malayna Pottschmidt: Outside of the people in my life, such as my family, my mentors and professors that supported me every step of the way through my journey and my undergraduate program, I would have to say that the biggest factor that contributed to my success and graduating from college has to be a combination of persistence, resilience and determination. College is very hard and on top of that, working four jobs, roughly 70-80 hours a week, working full time night shifts, and only sleeping about two hours a day to be able to pay for school was very tough, but I would say having tunnel vision and having that goal at the end of the tunnel and knowing that you can reach it if you just keep going is what truly helped me graduate. It was very hard, but I am very blessed to say that I got there and it definitely had to be because of my persistence and never giving up.
What should people take away after reading your article in the INCPAS Connect magazine?
Malayna Pottschmidt: Society Connect magazine. First off, I'm just glad that people are going to learn a little bit about me, maybe some more in depth information that they might have not known before and I feel very honored to be able to write this article and do this video for you. And secondly this is for all of the potential Scholars and current Scholars that are going through the program. I hope that when when you read this article that you will see the benefits of being a Scholar. You will have a network behind you and mentorship to support you from the CPA Society and I just want you to know that you can do it, you can get through it. And I hope that you enjoy this journey on becoming a CPA. And lastly, I hope that this article encourages others to get involved in the Scholars program, whether that be through volunteering or potentially monetary donations to support the kids that want to go through this program, because this program is truly doing great things. The Indiana CPA Society walks the walk. They don't just talk the talk. They provide so much invaluable information and opportunities for students that wouldn't otherwise be exposed to this profession. So if you are willing to get involved, I truly hope that you do. Whether that means becoming a mentor, which I hope one day I can do, or donating, sponsoring, anything that you can do.
