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KALAMAZOO, Mich.—From a young age, senior Sydney Wade, from West Bloomfield, Michigan, was born to make math fun. As she studies finance and accounting at ɫɫ�� Michigan University, Wade is bringing the lessons she learned from her youth into the classroom. 

“I come from a family of entrepreneurs and have been surrounded by business concepts since I was little. So many experiences have shaped me and helped me choose my major in finance and minor in accounting because I’ve always had real-time exposure to business plans, financial books and customer service.”

With the support from her family and educators, Wade has been able to find what brings her joy and what motivates her to continue learning.   

“I feel a great passion for finance and accounting work because math was a subject that I always had the most fun in. I could get real results and see the areas where I excelled in or failed at, which pushed me to always improve and grow.”

This support system that helped craft Wade’s foundation for her passions has only been become stronger while at ɫɫ��. With the influence of Dr. Bernard Han, professor of business information systems, she continues to develop her skills for her future career.

“Professor Han was especially helpful in my IT Foundations for Modern Businesses course. He challenged me with practical learning experiences both inside and outside of class. While projects were challenging, he encouraged me and my classmates to explore all areas of research to better develop the skills I was learning.”

Having experiences diving into new projects and exploring their outcomes with the guidance of her professors has prepared Wade for challenges she may encounter in her future. With her excitement for learning and her savviness for finding new ways to improve her talents, she can tackle anything. 

“A unique challenge this industry presents is keeping up with technology. Technology is constantly changing, and new financial systems are being created every day,” she says. “This can be an issue because individuals in this industry must continuously learn new techniques after mastering one.”

Wade has walked into many career fairs ready to leave a remarkable impression in her industry.

“I’m thankful to network with employers not only with the goal of seeking employment but finding out their business’ missions and how it will impact me as an individual and professional daily.”

Wade’s experiences with career fairs have landed her an internship position as a finance co-op at Eaton Corporation.

“I have a special internship experience where I’m frequently contributing to the company’s success through my work assessing the charges occurring within the company to avoid over or under spending,” she says. “I learn every day while working on this finance team—they help me understand the importance of finance and how it is essential to everyday life. The decisions we make do not only impact us, but they also affect others.”

Discovering a career that helps individuals grow is a lucky thing, what’s even better is finding a position where you can have fun with what you do, and Wade has found just that.

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