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Big 4 Accounting Firm Hires Three UST BBA/MBA Students
5/20/2009
 When Johnny Huynh fled the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in his hometown of New Orleans, he found a new home in Houston at the University of St. Thomas. As graduates across the country face the challenge of finding a job in an economic downturn, Huynh said the University of St. Thomas helped him weather uncertainty once again – this time, navigating through the current financial storm.
At UST, Huynh gained skills, connections and experience to secure a job after graduation.
Huynh and two other UST Cameron School of Business five-year BBA/MBA accounting majors – Audrey Orda and Maichi Bui – completed internships at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) and were offered jobs upon completion of their MBA with a concentration in accounting in May 2010.
“It speaks well of our students and our program for a Big 4 public accounting firm like PwC to offer all of the UST interns fulltime positions,” said Ramon Fernandez, assistant professor of accounting “These students are outstanding examples of the kind of accounting students we have at UST.”
The University of St. Thomas Cameron School of Business offers a number of five-year BBA/MBA degrees, which allow undergraduate students to proceed directly to the Master’s in Business Administration following streamlined programs which allow them to earn both the bachelors and master’s degrees in a unified program of study.
While industries across the board have seen losses and layoffs, the public accounting job market has experienced greater stability.
“I was lucky,” Huynh said. “When I chose my major four years ago, I just knew I loved numbers. It wasn’t until I talked to Professor Ramon Fernandez and joined the UST Accounting Society, that I realized what a good career choice I had made.”
The trio each applied for internships after attending a UST Accounting Society meeting where they visited with 1997 UST alumnus Burton Cole, senior audit manager at PwC. He also serves as chair of the Mentorship and Intern Development Committee of the Cameron School of Business Alumni Board.
 “I was able to get my foot in the door for a PwC internship interview, and ultimately receive my fulltime offer because of the connections I established through UST faculty and alums,” Orda said. “It was really helpful that Burton Cole came to recruit at UST. He told us how essential internships are because Big 4 firms frequently pull their associates from the pool of interns. We also learned that you have to apply for the internship a year in advance, so you really have to plan ahead if you want to be successful.”
When Cole was enrolled in UST’s five-year BBA/MBA, he said he experienced roadblocks in securing internship interviews at Big 4 public accounting firms. He ultimately landed an internship and fulltime position at PwC’s predecessor, Coopers & Lybrand LLP, where he said he was an “anomaly among Longhorns and Aggies.”
“I wanted to demonstrate that we could add some diversity to the firm by recruiting students who have a liberal arts background,” Cole said. “I have been coming back to UST to visit with accounting students for 12 years, and now we have upwards of 30 UST graduates working at the PwC Houston office. I really enjoy being able to give UST students an opportunity to interview for public accounting internships.
“The St. Thomas liberal arts education in conjunction with the five-year BBA/MBA accounting program has afforded me the ability to look within my work and consider the overall meaning and impact to my clients, my firm and the general public,” Cole said.
 With one year remaining to complete their MBA, and jobs at PwC in place, these three students can breathe a sigh of relief.
“It’s definitely a good feeling to know that there isn’t any uncertainty after graduation, and there is a secure job waiting for you,” Bui said.
“I feel so fortunate,” Huynh said. “I have friends and relatives who are in a bind and are having trouble finding jobs in this economy. Knowing I have a job when I graduate will enable me to finish school without worrying about interviewing. I can focus on finishing up my degree and getting ready for the CPA exam.”
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