A Non-Traditional Path: My Experience Coming Back to School

Hi everyone!

My name is Kelly Lynch and I am a MAcc Student and MAcc Program Ambassador at the Fisher College of Business. I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and attended undergraduate school at Miami University. Most students attend the MAcc program right after they finish their senior year but this was not the case for me. I took a more non-traditional pathway. I graduated from Miami back in 2016 with a Finance degree and then spent two years in corporate finance at Abercrombie & Fitch. While I enjoyed my time there, I always thought I would be like my dad, who had a successful career in medical sales, so I took a sales position at Olive, an artificial intelligence start up here in Columbus. After two years at Olive, I decided that I needed to find a career that could marry the client facing aspect with the analytical aspect. After some serious self reflection and research, I found myself applying to the Fisher MAcc program and the rest, as they say, is history!

It has been quite the transition coming back to school.  I am not used to spending my Sundays studying instead of watching football and it has been 6 years since my last accounting class. I forgot what it's like to sit in class and listen to a lecture but so far I have enjoyed the change of pace! The coursework is definitely a lot more than undergraduate and they expect you to learn a rapid pace. I was worried that not having an accounting undergrad degree would really hurt me in my classes, but the Pre-MAcc sessions before the program helped set me up for success. I have been able to feel confident in my classes.

Completing a Master's program is a big decision and a big deal. If you are someone who is on the fence about applying or maybe you are someone who is non-traditional like me, I encourage you to please reach out to me with any questions! Whether its questions about school or even my work experience, I would love to be a resource to you. I know I made the right decision coming back to school and I would be more than happy to share my experience!

I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences over the next year! Stay tuned.