Brandywine Accounting Club members attend PICPA Networking Night

MEDIA, Pa. — Members of Penn State Brandywine’s Accounting Club, along with faculty adviser and Assistant Professor of Accounting Karen McDougal, participated in the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) “Casino Night” student networking event.

The event, which was held at the Philadelphia Marriott West in Conshohocken, provided students with an opportunity to network with recruiters from area accounting firms, staff from CPA-exam review programs, and representatives from area graduate schools.

“The Accounting Club is in its second year at Brandywine,” said McDougal. “They regularly sponsor events to promote the interests of students looking at accounting and business careers.”

According to Jameson Pownall, a junior accounting major at Brandywine who attended the event, PICPA’s Casino Night combined networking opportunities with a fun, relaxed environment.

“I definitely went for the networking component, but it was well worth staying for the festivities — much more fun than I anticipated,” he said.

The event opened with a meet and greet, during which students were encouraged to interact with the representatives from graduate schools, accounting firms, and CPA-exam review programs. Later, the night transitioned into a noncash casino, and students had a chance to further connect with the accounting professionals over some fun, no-stakes games.

“I spoke to a few recruiters during the meet-and-greet about careers after college — and later that night, those same people were playing cards with us at the table,” said Pownall.

Companies in attendance included Surgent CPA Review, S.R. Snodgrass P.C., the Philadelphia Phillies, and Kreischer Miller. Although the event was attended by students from all over the state, Penn State Brandywine had the largest number of participants from one university.

“The exhibitors commented to me on how professional our students were,” said McDougal.

At the end of the night, the Brandywine students returned to campus with new contacts, potential employers, and new vision for their post-college plans.

“It’s wonderful to see for myself how valuable accounting is — that it’s something that is being actively recruited in the working world,” said Pownall. “You never know if handing someone your resume or talking at a table for 10 minutes will lead to that future career.”

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