Kasey Thomas ’23
How did you choose your course of study?
I wanted to study accounting since high school. My brain organizes information very linearly, and that’s how accounting is. I added economics because I really liked my professors in those intro classes, and they encouraged me to pursue it further.
What makes Bryant’s Accounting Department stand out?
People think accountants are boring. None of the professors at Bryant are like that. The Accounting Department is willing to help their students, because the process of becoming an accountant isn’t easy. They’re very supportive and helpful, and that really stands out to me.
Do you have a favorite class?
One of the classes I enjoyed the most is The Politics of Government and Business with Professor Richard Holtzman, which is kind of like combining economics and accounting and applying that to what happens in our day-to-day lives and the political system. I learned the most in Intermediate Economics. I thought I had a pretty good basis of how the economy works. Then I took that class and realized I barely knew anything. It was really interesting to see how everything connects.
Do you have a favorite project you’ve worked on?
My IDEA project. Our group prompt was, “How can we get people to interact more with Rhode Island state parks?” We came up with this building that brings the outside inside. It was very out-of-the-box, and it was fun to figure out how we can translate our idea into a physical prototype. That’s what I’m most proud of: being able to branch out and creatively solve this problem.
Why should an accounting and economics major be well-versed in creative thinking?
I think that using creativity to build new solutions that companies might not have considered is really important. For example, with my auditing summer internship at Deloitte, you make recommendations based on the information that you’re given. A lot of companies are used to hearing the same exact thing over and over again.
How did Bryant help you find your internship?
I toured every single type of school. No other school had a career program like Bryant’s. When I started looking for an internship, I didn’t know where to begin. I was able to sit down with one of the career counselors at the Amica Center, and they walked me through the process and looked over my resume. They were really helpful.
What are your future plans?
I’d like to be a CPA and do auditing. I really enjoy the process of auditing and building solutions. I want to take the CPA Exam and maybe after that pursue law school. I love to write, and I think law would let me do both the things that I like to do, which is be analytical but also write.
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“When you come to a new country as an international student, you don’t know anything. The culture is completely different. Bryant has been great because I never felt homesick or bored. My professors helped me gain confidence. They helped me find my place at Bryant and made me who I am today.”
“Bryant has helped me succeed a lot academically. I’ve also built close relationships with my professors, who gave me research opportunities and furthered my understanding about biology. I don’t think I would have had as many of those opportunities in another school. I’ve been very grateful for that support.”
“I really feel like Bryant prepared me for the next chapter of my life. Bryant has given me the tools and resources I need to get internships at a professional level. As a student, I was able to complete three different internships at three different companies.”