Nykia Sizemore, a freshman accounting major, participated in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) “eXplore” event last week at Temple University in Philadelphia – a one-day program designed to “energize and interest diverse undergraduates in the possibilities that an accounting career can offer.”
“eXplore is one way that PwC is addressing the challenges of attracting and retaining minorities in the accounting profession in a way that broadens the diverse talent pool and opens the minds of diverse students – many who wouldn’t have otherwise considered a career in accounting – to the possibilities,” said Channda Dunbar, PwC market recruiting leader for Philadelphia.
Sizemore, one of 34 students from 10 college campuses in the area was the only representative from Howard University.
“I felt proud to represent Howard that night,” Sizemore said. “There were students from all the big name schools in and around Philadelphia, yet I did not feel intimidated to be there alone.”
Other participating schools included: Temple, Villanova, University of Delaware, La Salle, St. Joseph’s, West Chester and Bloomsburg.
This one-day program offered a combination of interactive activities and training sessions aimed at developing teamwork, strategic thinking, creativity, problem solving and leadership skills.
Sizemore learned of the program through recruiters at the Philadelphia Metro office.
“I have a bit of a close relationship with them because of WorkReady, a high school program in Philadelphia,” she said. “I had the opportunity to intern with PwC for the last two summers so I continued to keep in contact.”
Program moderators offered students information and answers to their questions; eXplore helped Sizemore gain confidence in her field choice.
“In high school, I knew I was good in math but did not know what kind of career I could go into,” she explained. “After Tuesday’s program, I’m very confident about my choice.”
“The partners answered all of our questions and told us about the life and culture at PwC.
Their insight on the audit and tax divisions was enough to get anyone excited in an accounting career,” Sizemore said.
Formed in 1998 by two London companies, PricewaterhouseCoopers is one of the largest professional services firms and the largest of the Big Four auditing firms.
They specialize in audit, tax and advisory services.
PwC audits 40 percent of companies in the FTSE 100 Index and 45 percent of the Fortune 1000 energy companies; some of these companies include: ExxonMobil, Kraft Foods, American Express and Nike.
“I would definitely encourage underclassmen to look into PwC’s programs,” Sizemore said.
“The economy is not doing well right now and a lot of people still are not hiring as many people as they used to, but PwC has not slowed down with picking up new people.”
“Being one of the Big Four accounting firms, the fact that they want to invest money and time into the African-American community proves that they want to foster diversity in the office,” she said.
PricewaterhouseCoopers’ ideal eXplore candidate is a high-achieving freshman or sophomore, undeclared major, or someone new to the school of business who is considering various career paths and majors within business.
This week on Howard’s campus, PwC will host its “Personal Brand Week.” This national initiative will help students “learn more about the critical importance of personal brand and the right way to approach it.”
Each day of the week of Feb. 22, PwC will focus on one of five elements they recommend that students master in order to develop personal brands that will prepare them for their job search or first day on the job including: your “elevator pitch,” passion, network, online brand and being open to change.
For more information on PwC programs, visit www.pwc.com/us/PersonalBrandWeek or www.facebook.com/PwCUSCareers.
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