By Kaitlin Carman Asst. News Editor What is your educational and professional background? I went to Northeastern [University] from ‘85 to ‘90. It's a five-year program … for an undergraduate degree for accounting and a minor in management. … I did take a break for a while. I did become certified as a certified public accountant in the eyes of the State of Massachusetts. That was from ‘90 to ‘93 … to have the required amount of training in the Commonwealth to become certified as a CPA. I took some time off from my education to raise a family and work full-time. I did go back for my master's degree. I was a little bit older. I was roughly 44 years old when I started my master's in business administration at Suffolk University. It took me five years, nights and weekends, to complete that. And then, after a three-year break, I went back to Northeastern to start my Doctor of Education Degree in 2018, and I graduated in July of ‘23. After 30 years at Wentworth University, how has the transition to FSU been so far? As far as the change from my prior position at Wentworth - where I was the CFO - to being the CFO here, I really am excited about this change after 14-plus years in my prior organization in that role. I have a much larger portfolio of responsibilities here, where not only do I oversee the Business Office, which was what I would do in my prior job, but I also oversee information technology here, facilities, capital planning, transportation and a few other areas as well. So, it really is a challenge that I have accepted with open arms, and I am just overly excited at the subject matter experts who work with me, who oversee those multiple areas that report to me - they're just wonderful people and they're just a joy to work with on a daily basis. So, I'm very excited where I am. What attracted you to FSU? I'm very attracted to the mission and vision of the institution, which, in a way, I am paraphrasing, but it sets students up for career success. The education programs here lead to professional degrees. They lead students into professional positions, which can be in education, you can be an entrepreneur, you can work in government - there's many different industries which are direct pathways from the degrees which FSU offers. So I believe that is so important for families and students who are looking to understand, you know, “If I am going to commit four some-odd years of my time toward a degree, I want to make sure that my time - my family resources - are well put to use.” I believe in many ways, the FSU degree sets up a wonderful foundation as a launchpad for students to move their professional careers forward. … Another thing that attracted me to FSU is the affordability and accessibility - that a higher-education degree is within reach - financially, that is. Understanding the budget and how resources are allocated appropriately amongst this wonderful institution, is something that I take near and dear to my heart, so that each of the divisions and each of the departments within those divisions can carry out what they need to do to assist each and every student on campus. What is an interesting fact about you that students might be surprised to know? One thing that I loved doing growing up, which I haven't had time to do the last 20 years - but I did it through my elementary and secondary schooling and into college as well - is puzzle making. I love making puzzles. … They're just wonderful ways to have people socialize and come together and just break from the stress of the day and just focus on the puzzle. It was very relaxing to me as a hobby through my early fundamental years. I'm glad that there's an adult appreciation for it here on campus, in many of the in a few offices that I've seen, where I think various departments have the same mentality - that it's a nice way for people to come together and be around others. Do you have any advice for students? In my first month here, I have seen and talked to so many wonderful people who want to help our students. If it's Lorretta Holloway, if it's Meg Nowak, if it's Patrick Laughran - there are so many wonderful, dedicated faculty and staff who want to assist our students to succeed. And if it's joining a club, if it's being a student athlete, if it's meeting up in McCarthy to hang out, there are resources, which hopefully students know of. And if they don't, there are ways for them to find out, to help themselves academically, financially, and in other ways, to be a successful student here at FSU. I think that's what has been such a wonderful experience for me to see - the commitment, the dedication by so many individuals, faculty and staff, to assist students to move their educational endeavors forward. I think that's my biggest takeaway - that every student should know that if you might not know where to turn, you can maybe turn to a Resident Assistant. You can turn to an academic advisor. You can visit the folks in CASA. There are many individuals who are ready and able and willing to help our students to move their professional baccalaureate endeavor along.
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