|
Accounting Roommates in 6C Get Down to Business Tobin, Maloof and Landino have been friends since they met as freshmen in the fall of 2002. They first got to know each other through outside interests such as professional sports and took several of the same classes together as accounting majors. Tobin, a native of Woburn, MA, and Maloof, from West Roxbury, MA, both grew up in Massachusetts while Landino is from Milford, CT. After graduation in May 2006, Tobin will go to work for Feely & Driscoll, P.C.; Maloof for DiCicco, Gulman & Company LLP; and Landino for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. As accounting majors, the process that these three students went through in order to land employment illustrates a high-level of collaboration between both Assumption’s Career Services Office and its accounting faculty. Each April before their senior year, junior accounting students are invited to a program co-hosted by the accounting faculty and career services where proper summer activities to prepare for fall recruiting are discussed. When students return to campus for their senior year in September, a series of meetings take place with career services and resumes are mailed to prospective companies. The companies return a list of students that they are interested in and interviews take place on campus throughout September and October. Through this process, the three students were in constant contact with both career services and the accounting faculty. Tobin, Maloof, and Landino bought suits, prepared for the interview process, improved their interview skills and learned how to network. “All three men brought a positive energy to the recruiting process. They were well organized, timely in their task readiness, actively worked to get better in the interview process, sought employer feedback, and used the feedback format to improve their skills,” said David Kowalczyk, co-director of career services. The students noted that Kowalczyk was one of many key factors that led to their timely success in finding employment. “David is really on the ball and was very helpful,” said Landino. “I would have been lost without him.” “David is unbelievable,” said Maloof. “He was instrumental in this whole process.” Another strong factor in the success of these students was the approachable faculty of Assumption’s highly regarded accounting program. According to Kowalczyk, accounting is one of the hottest fields in today’s job market, a trend that Assumption’s accounting faculty is well prepared to handle. The accounting faculty features four prominent professors in Joe Foley, Frank Marino, Bill Sullivan and Jennifer Niece, who have all worked in the public sector as certified public accountants in the state of Massachusetts. “We all came out of the “real world” of accounting,” noted Sullivan. These professors are able to tap into their contacts in the business world, which aid in both possible job placements for students as well as practical classroom teaching. “In our classes we gained knowledge that helped us in our career paths,” said Tobin. “We also did a lot of group work which taught us how important it is to be part of a team,” added Maloof. Sullivan, who teaches Principles of Accounting I and II, Federal Income Taxes, and Personal Financial Management, is able to incorporate anecdotes and stories from his career in business throughout his courses. He helps prepare his accounting students for what they can expect in an interview or a training program. “We’re proud of the program we have built here and we do everything we can to help our students succeed when they leave. Our graduates are completely prepared to go to work and when they get out in the field they are very productive,” said Sullivan. “My goal is to have all of my accounting students employed by their graduation day.” Now that the weight of finding a job when they graduate has been lifted off their shoulders, Tobin, Maloof and Landino are busy looking for apartments in Boston and hope to take CPA courses with the help of their new employers which would eventually lead to sitting for the CPA exam. They all hope to climb the corporate ladder in their new jobs and plan to “meet in the middle somewhere” for lunch when they get the chance. Tobin and Landino will be working a short walk down the street from each other. “All three of these students are success stories. They really earned it,” said Sullivan. “When students like Ryan, Kevin and Frank do as well as they did it means I had a good year.” “It was a long process, but it all paid off in the end,” said Maloof. So what’s ultimately the next step for these three successful accounting students? “Tobin, Maloof & Landino LLP has a really nice ring to it,” they joked. |
January, 2006 - Seniors Ryan Tobin, Kevin Maloof, and Frank Landino have a lot in common. They are all accounting majors and reside together as roommates in Authier Hall suite 6C. But perhaps the most intriguing similarity between the three is that just midway through their final year at Assumption, they have all accepted job offers as audit associates in the Boston area upon graduation.