GEN NEXT: As One Door Closes, Another One Opens

Growing up on the south side of Peoria, Ill., with a single mother, I seldom heard of people around me pursuing esteemed professions, like law, medicine, or even accounting. So, if you had told me at age 16 that I was going to be pursuing a career in finance, I would’ve laughed. And if you had told me at age 21 that I would be an auditor specializing in federally funded grant organizations, I would’ve thought you were crazy. Yet, here I am in my fourth year as an auditor.

Life is filled with adversity and opportunity—often you can’t have one without the other. I truly believe in the expression, “As one door closes, another one opens,” as I experienced this firsthand.

When I was 13 years old, my mother passed away, and suddenly my whole world was thrown into a great unknown. While I would do anything to this day to have her back, her passing gave me a new perspective on life, and I quickly began to understand the importance of setting oneself up for success. So, I left the rough neighborhood I grew up in, since I was starting to be surrounded by people who didn’t have my best interests at heart, and began to focus on my studies and zero in on my athletics. This new paradigm I had on life allowed me to change my purview and behaviors, which subsequently allowed me to earn academic and athletic scholarships to attend college, where I was finally able to pursue one of those esteemed professions.

As an undergrad, I knew having an accounting degree would be useful down the road, but a part of me also wanted to try my hand at marketing. So, I chose to double major in marketing and accounting. Upon graduation, I gave marketing a chance, but soon realized the career path I initially wanted was full of forced sales, cold calls, and constant rejection. I quickly understood this wasn’t my true calling, but I kept my open/closed door mindset and leaned into the accounting career path I originally had as my back-up plan.

Admittedly, before taking courses in college, my only depiction of what an accountant was came from movies and TV shows. With pop culture being my only reference, I thought of an accountant as the dorky character who carried a calculator and wore a pocket protector. As I started to embark on my accounting journey, I realized that statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Accountants are people like me—people who love interacting with clients, solving puzzles, figuring out where numbers go wrong, and serving their communities.

Of course, starting my accounting career required some additional work. First, I knew I had to obtain the 150 credit hours required to sit for the CPA exam. Second, I knew I needed to move to a city that had ample opportunities. I satisfied both needs by attending graduate school at DePaul University in Chicago.

Before I knew it, I was a first-generation college graduate with a reinvigorated love for accounting. Thanks to my experience at DePaul, I received an amazing opportunity to work for a firm that would help grow me as a young professional—Wipfli LLP. I started as an intern, and four years later, I’m working as a senior accountant in the firm’s nonprofit and government practice. At Wipfli, I also serve as the national chair of our multicultural business resource group, Embrace, where we’re tasked with diversity, equity, inclusion efforts, such as elevating the voices of and advocating for diverse cultures and perspectives with respect to race, color, religion, and national origin.

Choosing to pursue accounting has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. It’s given me a platform to showcase my talents; exposure to various industries; opportunities for traveling, working remotely, volunteering, and giving back to my community; and meeting people from all walks of life. Speaking from experience, never let life’s setbacks prevent you from finding your true calling. Keep an open mind, move to a different city, take that extra class—after all, “as one door closes, another one opens.”

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• GEN NEXT: Hungry for More? How to Blend Your Profession and Passion: What does public accounting and operating a Michelin-starred restaurant have in common? More than you think.