On Tuesday, April 16, we had the pleasure to meet Nicholas Tatum, Director Controller of North America at Under Armour. If you ask me, hearing Nicholas talk was the highlight of my month. We are constantly meeting different accounting firms week by week and it was especially nice to hear about the experience in a public company like Under Armour. A company we all know for their nice running shoes and lovely workout shirts. We started our meeting by watching the Under Armour I WILL video. A campaign that brings the to life the passion and determination that drives all athletes and Under Armour’s commitment to engineering innovative products.  Nicholas spoke about how Under Armour is a great company and the insight to show how this great young company is striving in the current market. I believe the most valuable item we heard was Nicholas’s career path.  Nicholas saw himself as in a decision maker role, in a position where his input would actually affect the operations of a company. I appreciated how he spoke highly of his previous roles that gave him the insight and and fortitude to be where he is today. As someone who has switched major, it’s good to know how non-accounting related jobs can translate into different careers. As future business professionals, we gain real insight when we see someone’s career path and the decisions that come about when changing career positions and companies. 
Nicholas left us with a great quote to remember when we become business professionals “ Give back to those that gave back to us.” As we all leave and join the corporate world let’s all not forget the people and groups like BAP that helped us get there so that we can help future students.

Name: Brendan Frank
Year/Major: Junior majoring in Accounting
Summer 2019 Internship: CohnReznick
 
 This semester, one of our biggest goals was to improve the sense of community and friendship amongst our Beta Alpha Psi members. Sure, we all see each other at the Tuesday meetings and some people have a friend groups within BAP, but what we wanted to do is organize more structured bonding events and activities so everyone got to know each other better and meet new people. With this goal in mind, we are proud to announce that Brendan Frank is this week’s beast of the week. Brendan works at Nacho Mama’s in Towson and went above and beyond to help organize a happy hour/dinner event for BAP members. Organizing an event like this is much easier said than done, so we appreciate how Brendan handled just about everything related to the event and that, largely because of him, it resulted in a great night out and some delicious food!
 
Aside from our bonding event, Brendan has been really involved in BAP. We first met him at the Ms. Taylor event at the beginning of the semester and since then, he has had near-perfect attendance to our weekly meetings, attended our EY office visit, and was a team member for our Big Event team. The one meeting that Brendan missed, he was off continuing to be a beast by interviewing for and earning a summer internship with CohnReznick. By being so involved, making a difference in BAP, and working hard to earn a summer internship, Brendan has earned this week’s beast title.
 
​

​On Tuesday, April 2nd, our chapter welcomed PwC to the meeting. Personally, I found this exciting, as it was an opportunity for us to hear from a Big 4 firm about the evolving technology in our world. The emphasis was placed on trending technologies such as Internet of Things, automation, artificial intelligence, blockchain, augmented reality, and drones. The presenters made this an engaging presentation by breaking up their slides with the occasional video. The videos really drove home the point that our presenters were trying to make, that in a world of rapidly changing technologies it’s becoming more necessary to understand all this technology. They explained how some of these technologies are already being applied in the workplace, such as programs that automatically track your time sheet and analyzing data from journal entries. The seemingly little tasks that automations can do for us really save a boatload of time, which I appreciate as someone who believes time is the most precious resource on Earth. 
 
Perhaps my biggest takeaway was that despite all the evolution of these technologies and talk about robots/automation taking our jobs, they aren’t expected to take our jobs in accounting, which for a college student sounded like a blessing and validation of my choice to be an accounting major. In fact, it becomes an asset to us once we leave college because the automations can do the more simple monotonous tasks for us, which should leave incoming interns and staff with the opportunity to start learning more complicated parts of accounting from the beginning and therefore accelerating the projected growth path within the accounting firms from its current projection. If that’s not motivation for us students during this time of semester where the grind continues without mercy, then I don’t know what is. In addition, through provided technology learning courses, PwC and other firms look out to make sure that we are learned in these evolving technologies. This is a theme that was repeated at the beginning of the semester with Ms. Taylor, and this workplace education was mentioned by EY earlier in the semester as well. Overall, this was a very informative presentation and opportunity to learn, and hopefully our members will recognize the need to be more aware of the rapid technological changes in our world.

Name: JohnRay Akia 
Major/ Year: SenIor majoring in Accounting 
Internship: Currently interning at Myers and Stauffer and will be interning at SC&H over the summer.
 
The regional conference was a great learning experience where I was able to network with many different people in other chapters. It was also a great bonding experience for our group and I will cherish the memories we made for years to come. I was surprised when we won 1stplace for presenting, but felt that we deserved it after all the work we put in. I encourage BAP members to participate next year if they are able to. 
​

Name: Ryan Michaels 
Major/ Year: Seniormajoring in Accounting
Internship: Interning at Cohen and Company. 

My experience at this year’s regional conference was great. Some of the highlights included going out to an awesome Italian restaurant with the whole shade and branches crew, and yes, the whole meal was free and covered by Beta Alpha Psi, as well as playing heads up the night before which helped to get our minds off the presentation the next morning. It was especially funny seeing Jayson trying to act out a lizard crawling on a wall, quite a hilarious/disturbing image for sure. Being a Beta Alpha Psi candidate last spring and someone who was able to attend the conference as a spectator, it was a great way for me to network and get to know the current leadership group on a personal level. I highly recommend any sophomores or juniors interested in attending this conference to at least go even if they do not want to present at the competitions- it is a great experience to get involved in BAP. This whole process of attending the regional conference the last two years was a great way for me to personally conquer my fear of public speaking and by winning this year’s competition, I now know I have the public speaking tools required to present in a professional setting at any point in my future career.

 
Name:  Quoc Nguyen 
Major/ Year:  Senior majoring in Accounting 
Internship:  Interning at Ellin and Tucker 
 
As someone who came back for the second time, the experience 2019 regional is still fresh, amazing, and enjoyable. Last year, we placed second I used that as a way to motivate my team to place higher this year. When I first accepted the topic, I really did not think that we would be able to do it, but after assembling the final team consisting of Ryan Michaels, JohnRay Akia and Taylor Walker, I knew that with this amazing team, we would be able to achieve the goal that we had set. Getting this first place was not an easy journey, there were many nights that we had to stay in the library until 12 and days that we had to put our personal time aside for the team. Everything was polished down to the finest details from the content of the PowerPoint, whether the line in the PowerPoint is even on both sides, or if the color match the theme of the PowerPoint, to how to walk up to the judges properly, where to stand when presenting, which hand is used to hand off the clicker, … After finishing regionals, I have created so many memorable memories with all the team members, memories that I will never forget and, the bond between our friendship has become tighter. One of my closest friends once said it’s not the result that matters, but the progress, the things that you’ve learn to get to the result is what matters, and I completely agree with it. Greater things are waiting for us at the annual conference. 

Name:   Taylor Walker 
Major/ Year:   Senior majoring in Accounting 
Internship:  ​Interning at John Hopkins Federal Credit Union

Being asked to participate in part of the regional conference only three weeks prior to the conference would have been the most stressful situation, however the 7 BAP members already involved in preparing for the conference made my transition simple.  The regional team members were extremely supportive and helpful as I tried to learn my place in the regional conference.  Being involved in the regional conference not only allowed me to connect with our BAP members but also BAP members of other chapters and different professional partners who love to support the organization.   Of my 4 years at Towson, the regional conference was one of my most memorable experiences and my number one greatest accomplishment bringing home 1st place.
 

​Name:  Danielle Naumann
Major/ Year:Junior majoring in Accounting 
Internship/ Full-time offer:Currently interning at Cohen & Company and will be interning at SC&H over the summer.
Interesting Fact: Was the best bowler at the bonding event with a score of 156. (Tell me that not a beast)
 
The beast this week is none other than Danielle Naumann. Joining our chapter of Beta Alpha Psi just last semester, Danielle has been one individual to take advantage of everything we have to offer.
First, getting involved in many community service opportunities like Maryland Food Bank, PB&J sandwich making and Shaping Our Future Leaders event at Dulaney High School (Her High School). Motivated to have the Shaping Our Future Leaders event at her old stomping grounds, she quickly gathered emails for the President, which allowed the event to be possible.
Danielle right away has taken advantage of Beta Alpha Psi study groups. These study groups consist of students all preparing for similar exams. We learn, teach, and motivate each other every step of the way, and we make sure everyone is prepared for those horrible exams. Danielle is known to be the teacher of the group as she is a bright individual that takes her education very seriously. I can say that she is a big reason for me getting A’s in the classes that we both have.   
This enthusiasm for community service and leadership with study groups is just a few reasons why it was easy to pick Danielle Naumann as the “BEAST”.

​On Tuesday, March 5th, we had the pleasure of going to Dulaney High School (my high school) in order to give back to our community by helping Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) students prepare for their upcoming conference. Jamie Bare who is one of my old teachers is in charge of FBLA and has made the club grow since I was in high school. Out of around 150 members, they will be sending 100 students to the conference in order to continue their rein of placing in first. 
We had the honor to help FBLA students practice presenting and help them discuss their cases they were given. We also gave them feedback in order to perform the best at their conference. I really enjoyed giving back to my high school by helping students who enjoy business as much as I do. I wish I joined FBLA when I was in high school and had the opportunity to compete in the competition. Some of the groups had to make a website for a fake company and create a presentation while other groups were given a case study that they had to present right on the spot only given an ample amount of time. It was interesting to hear the case study groups discuss their scenario and figure out how to answer. It was also nice to see how much I have learned since high school by relating what I have learned in college to the student’s case studies. 
Overall, our visit to Dulaney High School was a great experience for our chapter to give back to the community while also giving students a chance to see what it is like to continue their interest in business and to show that getting involved early on helps create success in their future career.

Name:JohnRay Akia 
Major/ Year:Senior majoring in Accounting 
Internship/ Full-time offer:Currently interning at Myers and Stauffer and will be interning at SC&H over the summer.
Interesting Fact:Won a PPR fantasy football league with the help of Pat Mahomes, Christian McCaffrey, and Alvin Kamara.  
 
The third semester in Beta Alpha Psi, JohnRay has already made his mark in this chapter. Within the last year, JohnRay held two positions, communicator and social media chair. Trying to always lighten up the mood, he is known for his email chronicles where he made funny nicknames paired with embarrassing pictures of our former president. Not only does he do an outstanding job on the E board, but he also gets involved in other projects like the Regional Conference and Shaping Our Future Leaders. This year JohnRay will be helping our Branch squad present in front of multiple chapters, talking about how we use technology within our chapter. Making an impact and being involved in every step of the way is why it’s safe to say that JohnRay Akia is deserving of the second “Beast” of the week.