Author: Adam

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Outside The Grove: Hiking

Balancing Rock

Many students at Grove City College come to realize that though we may have mixed feelings about harsh Pennsylvania winters, there are undeniable upsides come spring and fall. Being from Colorado, I grew up with an appreciation for nature and while western PA lacks anything quite as stark as the Rocky Mountains, it certainly has its redeeming qualities. Here are a few that I have explored, anywhere from walking distance from campus to a few hours drive:

  1. Moraine State Park: Moraine State Park is built around Lake Arthur. Lake Arthur is a large and oddly shaped expanse of water with around 40 miles of shoreline. Inside the park there are floating docks, nature trails, hiking trails, bike paths, fishing docks, and plenty of rolling hills and forest. Park rules and weather conditions can be restrictive to camping, so do some research beforehand if you decide to go.
  2. Grove City “poop loop”: this area is given its nickname by students because in the middle of the open space, there is a sewage plant. Officially, the area is called the Grove City Borough Bike Trail. A quiet winding road connects the rest of Grove City to a park. At the park there are soccer fields, a disc golf course, and several miles of bike path much of which is along Wolf Creek.
  3. Trough Creek State Park: this state park is a few hours from Grove City, but I found it worth the drive. While there are over 12 miles of trails most of which I haven’t seen, the biggest attraction at this park is the Balanced Rock. The hike goes along Trough Creek and across a suspension bridge, past a waterfall, and ascends to the ledge on which the infamous rock is perched.

This is far from an exhaustive list and is simply a small sampling of the great outdoors accessible from Grove City.

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Spring Chapel: Dr. Schaefer

Grove City College’s Dr. Schaefer, one of many esteemed members of Biblical and Religious Studies (BARS), delivered the message at Chapel on March 23. The message was based on Psalm 40:1-10, and Hebrews 10:5-10. Because the content of chapels was something that appealed to me when considering admissions, and because it is what many students here consider a highlight of their experience, the “Spring Chapel” series will summarize several of these chapels and relay what I as a student see as the key takeaways.

The connection that Dr. Schaefer draws between these passages is that Hebrews is a quotation of Psalm 40. Psalm 40 seems initially like a normal psalm of thanksgiving, but it is actually a lamentation. It is an expression of a clear and present crisis that David is experiencing. As he experiences this, he remembers a time of rescue; the specific instance isn’t clear, but David is recalling a time that he experienced helplessness and hopelessness and God faithfully drew him up out of this pit.

Verses 4-5 show David recognizing that in the midst of life and myriad experiences, hope can only be found in the one living God. The “multiplied wonderful deeds” inspire David to show that hope is trusting.

Verses 6-8 should be read as telling of God’s desire that the people of God reflect on their relationship with Him. The language is strong “here I am” and “I have come,” signifying the “here I am, I have come to do your will,” mentality that God desires his people have. This was certainly David’s spirit in writing Psalm 40.

Verses 9-10 contain David’s proclamation of God’s deliverance. David makes this proclamation as a covenant person in the covenant assembly bringing forth witness testimony to God’s goodness. This highlights the importance of the proclamation of the word in verses 3, 5, 9, and 10. Faith comes by hearing the good news of God and his covenant mercies; just like David, we are to proclaim these mercies to one another because it is how we grow in union and communion.

Throughout the whole of Psalm 40, Dr. Schaefer pointed out that it is God’s magnificent splendor that calls His people together in worship. Worship is meant to be personal, but not kept private; God’s desire is for deeply felt, sincere, corporate worship.

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Computer Science and the Liberal Arts

At Grove City College, liberal arts are regarded with the utmost of value concurrently with vocational excellence. Daniel Supplee, a current senior, my good friend, a Trustee Scholarship recipient, and a Computer Information Systems (“CIS”) major with minors in Cybersecurity and Business, wrote the following in response to my questions about his choice of major, the role of liberal arts in his education here at Grove City, and his perceived career preparedness.

“Just as tradesmen often pass down their trades to their sons, my father passed his ‘trade’ of programming down to me. Starting at age 8, I was given my first booklet on programming by my father and thus began my entrance into the world of computer science. Continuing through middle and high school, programming was a large part of my free time, and guided by my father I expanded my skillset and aptitude in the various fields of computer science. When it came to pick a college degree, however, I realized that I also had great interest in the many other subjects that I had been exposed to previously: history, economics, language, and music. The Computer Information Systems major gave me the flexibility to explore those topics while still maintaining my focus on computers. After four years of college, I am still a believer that the primary purpose of college is not only to train students in the technical skills of their majors, but to produce well-rounded adults with at least a comprehensive understanding of the world we live in. Adopting my major, while taking classes in Biblical Hebrew, Middle Eastern politics, law, and economics have helped me put my life and world into perspective, while still gaining proficiency in the intricacies of computer science, like application development, database management, and network systems. The capstone of my major, Senior Project, has helped pull together the majority of my technical skills in a creative manner, proving to myself that I can still keep up with the more focused Computer Science majors in addition to enjoying a Christian liberal arts education. It is a common view of students in my department that extra-curricular endeavors such as internships and personal projects make up a large portion of our technical education, and that deficiencies in our technical abilities will be made up when we go to work after school. Nevertheless, it is vital that the student graduates with employable skills in his or her field, and that the pursuit of the liberal arts be made in perspective of that fact.”

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Basic Elements of a Financial Plan

As students progress through college, often their mindset shifts from “broke college student” to “young professional.” And their questions shift from “how do I afford pizza next Friday night” to “how am I going to save for retirement?”

A financial plan is a sensitive and individualized thing. Different people look at finances differently, and that is okay. This post is a summary of some of the most important considerations to have when discussing your financial plan with a mentor, advisor, planner, or parent.

  1. Emergency Fund: Fast-forward a few years to when you are working, maybe pulling in $4,000 per month, getting your loans paid off, taking care of other expenses, saving for a down-payment, and enjoying life. But then something unexpected happens and you find yourself unable to work for a few weeks or months. What do you do? Having an emergency fund equipped to cover 3-6 months of expenses is vital to building a sound financial plan because it protects you (and your other savings) from unexpected events.
  2. Retirement: This means different things to different people, but for almost everyone it is a larger number than they expect, and saving/investing towards this goal can be daunting. Set healthy savings habits and goals now, and find out what you need to save each year to make your dreams happen.
  3. Budget: Based on your income, subtract out taxes. Then divide this income by 12 to know your monthly after-tax income. From this, start categorizing expenses as either fixed or discretionary (discretionary means optional or “for fun”), budget your savings and investments, use some of the left over for “fun” money, and then boost your savings with anything left after that. The most important part of a financial plan is the plan; a mediocre financial plan is worlds better than no plan.
  4. Other goals: Take time to think about and write down your goals. Maybe you want to have a house by the time you are 27; perhaps a car you will want to buy before the age of 30; maybe a dream vacation 10 years after you graduate or once your student loans are paid off. Whatever these goals are, write them down. Prioritize them. Put a price tag on them. Figure out a strategy to start moving towards them. Even if your goals change later, you will look back on your earlier self and thank yourself for saving the way you did.

Finances are difficult, and financial planning can be complicated. Thankfully, there are endless resources for people like you and me. Start with the basics, and try to cover all your bases. Being one step ahead can make all the difference in the world.

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Move-in Day: Tips and Tricks

Memorial Hall, a men’s freshman dorm, and my first campus home

Nothing is more anxiety-inducing to some students than move-in day. Not only are you going to meet a whole swath of new people and make new friends, you have a lot to remember, a lot to do, and oftentimes not a ton of time to do it. This post contains a few helpful tips that might make your move in day just a little smoother.

  1. Organize before you get there: If you are arriving with 15 boxes of assorted belongings, moving in is going to be difficult. It would be much easier to have a box of school supplies, a box of cords and cables, a box of shoes and coats, and so on. This will help you prioritize what needs to get unpacked so that you can make it to all of your orientation activities, and it will help you keep track of how much stuff you are actually bringing.
  2. When in doubt, leave it out. Many times students arrive at college with things they will not ever need want or miss. College is not high school, and maybe you do not need all three skateboards that you keep at home. You might consider bringing your summer and fall clothes, and then switching your shorts out for coats when you go home for Thanksgiving. This helps you consolidate what you have to bring that first semester, takes pressure off of your overstuffed closet, and declutters your move out.
  3. Coordinate with your roommate. Nothing is less useful than a second area rug. If you and your roommate both bring the same shared item, one of you is left returning, tossing, or shipping something home. Coordinate with your roommate about things such as furniture, rugs, or lamps.
  4. Try and find out the dimensions of your room. Before I came to school I was able to ask my admissions counselor the dimensions of my room. This helped me to know that I would not have room for that futon out of my parents’ basement, and that I should slim down my list of things to bring so as to have room to walk around in my room. Bringing too much stuff is just as annoying as not bringing enough stuff, so know where you are moving and pack accordingly. Now, students can take virtual tours of buildings here.

Move-in day may be one of the most stressful, but it is also one of the most fun days of college. Between Orientation Board (OB activities), new friends on your hall, and new routines, there are a lot of things to keep track of but even more to be excited about!

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Learning by Moonlight: Night Classes

Night classes may sound like something taken by part time students who work during the day, or like a last resort for students who would rather have their evenings free for activities, homework, or extracurriculars. At Grove City College, however, my experience with night classes has been excellent. This post will discuss the upsides of being in class from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

  1. Longer class period. You thought I said upside to night classes–I did. Having a 2.5 hour period one time per week can sometimes seem long, but the upside is that you get “into gear” before the class period is over. While a normal Monday/Wednesday/Friday class is only 50 minutes long and Tuesday/Thursday classes are 75 minutes long, a night class is 2.5 hours. While normal classes take 15 minutes just to get through assignments, upcoming homework, recap of last class, etc. leaving only a short part of class for subject matter, a night class does not have this problem. You can find yourself extremely engrossed in the material of the class, and for many people this improves retention. Brush up or study outside of class a few times per week, and you might find yourself learning more from that one block of time than from two or three of shorter duration.
  2. Professors get fun. If 2.5 hours seems like a long time to you, do not worry. It is a long time for your professor as well. I have had many experiences where a night class professor introduces activities, games, competitions, stories, media, etc. that help the time go by faster and keep students engaged. Often this does not happen as much in day classes because the window is shorter and because the professor does not personally feel the need to break up the “monotony.”
  3. Suggestion: take courses you care about. If you find yourself taking Calculus at 6:30 p.m. twice a week and you are not a math-brain, your professor is likely to become well acquainted with the outside of your eyelids while you stare at the insides. If you find yourself taking a course you are genuinely interested in or care about, the opposite will be the case. This will separate the class from normal school hours and allow you to look forward to the relaxed, engrossing, engaging environment of a night class you enjoy.

Night classes can be a great way to knock out some extra credits or take a course you wouldn’t be able to fit in your schedule otherwise. They are not a last resort or an act of desperation, but a unique learning environment I highly recommend anyone try.

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Accounting/Finance Majors: CPA, CMA, CFP, CFA

If you are or considering becoming an accounting and/or finance major, you have probably heard a lot of acronyms thrown around in reference to different professional certifications (read: exams) that you can acquire. This article is aimed at breaking down some of the confusion and clarifying what each one is. This is the first step in deciding which one(s) may be for you.

  1. CPA- Certified Public Accountant. This is the flagship certification for those who want to actually be accountants. Professions include tax and audit, though the CPA is widely enough respected that many corporate lawyers, business consultants, tax attorneys, and personal financial planners have it as well. The CPA is quite difficult with four 4-hour exams which must be passed within 18 months of each other. Pass rates for each of these exams is between 40-60%, though Grove City College students tend to have much higher pass rates. The exam sections are audit, financial accounting and reporting, tax and regulation, and business environment and ethics. This is a very valuable certification, but you have to really want it. If you are considering or would like the option to take the CPA, look into your state’s CPA eligibility requirements for undergrad course work. Some states (such as CO) require you to have specific courses under your belt that the College does not include in graduation requirements.
  2. CMA- Certified Managerial Accountant. This is similar to the CPA, but with more of a managerial emphasis. This means that costing, cash flow, inventory, and those types of issues are more heavily emphasized. The CPA is incredibly broad, the CMA is less so. Professions are similar to those of CPAs; financial analyst, managerial accountant, corporate controller, financial manager, and many others.
  3. CFP- Certified Financial Planner. Usually, to use this certification you must also pass other financial licensing exams such as the Series 6 or Series 7. A CFP works with individuals and families to provide financial solutions to their problems and to grant them added security. A CFP works in a very personal role with their clients and has a lot of responsibility for giving them good recommendations. CFPs understand finance and financial products, are empathetic and caring, and have strong people skills.
  4. CFA- Chartered Financial Analyst. The CFA exam is sort of like the CPA of finance. There are several exams (called levels) which must all be passed. CFAs become experts in finance, and often work as asset or portfolio managers, financial managers, risk management experts, or consultants.

All of these paths provide excellent career opportunities, but you may fit one of them more than others. Spend some time reading about each one, finding out who you may know with a background in one of these areas, and considering your end goal to help you decide!

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Big 4 Internships and the Pandemic Impact (Part 4 of 4)

This is part 4 of a 4 part post. If you already saw the part prior, go ahead and skip over the remainder of this introductory paragraph since it is the same as that in the others. During the summer of 2020, in the heat of the pandemic, I had a rare opportunity: I was part of Ernst & Young’s first fully virtual internship experience. This post is geared towards students looking at interning at the “Big 4” in the coming years, so this post is particularly suitable for current or prospective accounting majors. But, if you are not considering accounting, there is still something here for you.

4. The reality

In spring of 2020, I found out that my internship would be 100% remote. While I was disappointed, I was impressed with how well EY was able to adjust their plans in such a dramatic way on such short notice. The program was shortened by about three weeks and the start date shifted back by about a month. I was mailed a laptop (and everything that came with). Within the first day of the internship, thousands of new interns were up and running on EY’s remarkably advanced technological platforms. We were provided with training, broken down into groups, assigned mentors and peer-buddies (one of the greatest things about EY), and put on client-engagement teams. We were given a few weeks to work with our assigned client engagement teams, and then we were given a week to work through EY Badges to earn the Intern level badge. The final week of the internship had 8-10 interns from all service lines were paired with a coach to work through a real business problem for a client, and compete to see who could offer the best plan, slide deck, and presentation.

While the internship did not look the way I expected it to, being remote showed me an even clearer picture of how EY works. They were off knocked off kilter and navigating foreign territory, and while they could have canceled the internship or cut it down to merely the training portion, they proved that people matter and displayed the power of the organization to rally in hard times and unwaveringly meet objectives.

Disclaimer: I do not represent nor am I speaking on behalf of any of the Big 4; all information in this article is subject to change; the intent of this article and all following posts on the same subject is to help inform students, not to advise their career decisions.

 

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Big 4 Internships and the Pandemic Impact (Part 3 of 4)

This is part 3 of a 4 part post. If you already saw the part prior, go ahead and skip over the remainder of this introductory paragraph since it is the same as that in the others. During the summer of 2020, in the heat of the pandemic, I had a rare opportunity: I was part of Ernst & Young’s first fully virtual internship experience. Depending on how you look at it, this is either a scar in my past or a badge of accomplishment. I certainly view it as the latter, but I did not initially. This post is geared towards students looking at interning at the “Big 4” in the coming years, so this post is particularly suitable for current or prospective accounting majors. But, if you are not considering accounting, there is still something here for you.

I discussed previously what companies the “Big 4” are and what they do, and I covered why internships there are so significant. This post is aimed at relating my experience from the summer of 2020, and discussing how it was shaped by the pandemic.

3. My expectations

My relationship with Ernst & Young started long before my first day as an intern; I met a recruiter on campus for a mock interview, and knew from that meeting that EY was a place I wanted to work and grow. As I progressed through the application and interview process, everyone that I spoke to or exchanged emails with further affirmed my decision. When I applied, interviewed, and accepted my offer (all before Easter in 2019), no one knew how the world would change over the coming year. I went into this expecting to be sitting in a recently remodeled office in one of Denver’s tallest buildings with a view of the city and the mountains. I expected intern activities after days in the office, and opportunities to visit client sites and really see a “day in the life of an auditor.” More importantly I expected to be challenged, pushed, taught, mentored, and exhausted.

Disclaimer: I do not represent nor am I speaking on behalf of any of the Big 4; all information in this article is subject to change; the intent of this article and all following posts on the same subject is to help inform students, not to advise their career decisions.

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Big 4 Internships and the Pandemic Impact (Part 2 of 4)

This is part 2 of a 4 part post. If you already saw the part prior, go ahead and skip over the remainder of this introductory paragraph since it is the same as that in the others. During the summer of 2020, in the heat of the pandemic, I had a rare opportunity: I was part of Ernst & Young’s first fully virtual internship experience. Depending on how you look at it, this is either a scar in my past or a badge of accomplishment. I certainly view it as the latter, but I did not initially. This post is geared towards students looking at interning at the “Big 4” in the coming years, so this post is particularly suitable for current or prospective accounting majors. But, if you are not considering accounting, there is still something here for you.

2. Internships

Big 4 internships are highly competitive because they are very valuable. You probably have heard jokes about fetching coffee and making copies; Big 4 internships leave students at times craving a simpler job description. Big 4 internships are significant because they are well respected both inside of and outside of the Big 4. They are well respected because they are consistently challenging. Much of the internship is spent in training – a training very similar to what you would receive if you were a new hire fresh out of college. This training is invaluable because it provides interns with the skills they will need in the next phase of the internship which is typically one or more different client engagements. While on client engagements, intern roles vary by team and by client and by intern, but it is safe to assume that you will be doing substantive work, safe to assume that you will get a taste of what the Big 4’s environment is like, and even safer to assume that you will learn a lot.

Disclaimer: I do not represent nor am I speaking on behalf of any of the Big 4; all information in this article is subject to change; the intent of this article and all following posts on the same subject is to help inform students, not to advise their career decisions.