Former Environmental Studies Major Decides to Go Back to School for Accounting

Spencer Power is already a college graduate. He has a Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, history and geography. “I’ve had relatively good jobs over the last 12–13 years, but nothing really panned out when it came to using my degrees in those jobs. Once COVID hit, I decided it was a good time to buckle down and find something I will enjoy for the rest of my working years, which led me back to school,” Spencer said.

Before starting, Spencer had a lengthy conversation with his wife and kids about what would be involved when going back to school. He said, “It was very intimidating at first. But after I spoke with my wife, family and my Rasmussen advisors, I felt reassured and confident that I was making the right decision. After the conversation with my wife is when I started filling out the application and getting ready to go back to college!” That led him to the Bachelor of Accounting program at Rasmussen University.

Spencer said the first step in going back to college was meeting with his admissions advisor who really got things rolling. He chose Rasmussen over other universities because of the online platform. “I researched other schools, including in-person schools and other online platforms. I chose Rasmussen because they are an accredited university, which is huge. In my previous bachelor’s, I didn’t have the support and the career guidance aspect that I had at Rasmussen. They were always there to answer all my questions, and being able to go at my own pace was huge with a family and just life in general. I think it is the way to go when going to college,” Spencer said.

Spencer said his biggest encouragers throughout his journey have been his wife, kids, family and friends. He said his wife helped him open his eyes to going back to school. “She went back to school before I did to get her EMT certificate (Emergency Medical Technician). I could see what she did, and it really drove me to pursue my own degree. Rasmussen’s faculty and advisors also did a great job with communication and guidance. If I ever had a question, they would generally get back to me the same day, would provide great feedback on assignments and were supportive throughout my courses.”

Spencer said the most difficult challenge he overcame was getting diagnosed with COVID and being hospitalized for three days at the end of his semester. “When I was in that position, I reached out to all of my professors to let them know what was going on. I definitely didn’t want to have to withdraw from any of my classes, so I worked with my professors to get extra support and get questions answered.” In the end, he was able to complete and submit all of his work while in the hospital and made the dean’s list that semester.

Spencer said he is most proud of graduating summa cum laude and being on the Dean’s list every semester. “It drove me to continue wanting to do well, pushed me to do the best I could, along with putting in the time and effort to finish my degree.”

Now, Spencer uses his degree every day at work. He elaborated, “I feel that it is very relevant to the work I do. Even the first few days on the job I was recognizing terms that I had been studying which made it much easier to get acclimated with the work I was doing.”

Spencer is looking to advance his career even further. He said, “Currently, I’m an accounting intern. I just had a conversation with my manager about possibly looking into my master’s degree.” He is now looking forward to growing in the company he is with and hopefully one day becoming a partner!

The Accounting programs at Rasmussen University are not designed to prepare graduates for any state-issued professional license or certification. This program does not meet all educational prerequisites for licensure as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in any state. Each state determines its own requirements for licensure as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). In addition to other requirements, most states require a bachelor’s degree and no fewer than 225 quarter credits (150 semester credits) of university coursework, specific in-field experience, and passage of the CPA licensing exam. Additional examination eligibility and licensure requirements exist. Please consult with your state’s board of accountancy or equivalent oversight agency for further details, as requirements may change at any time. This program has not been approved by any state board of accountancy or other professional licensing agency.

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Rasmussen University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.