A journey from athletics to accounting

A journey from athletics to accounting

Carla Kelly ’22

 

Messiah Athletics is what drew Regan Hershey ’17 to Messiah, but it was his passion for accounting that kept him there. Hershey began his Messiah journey as an international business major and a member of Messiah’s baseball team. It wasn’t until the end of his freshmen year that he quit the team to focus on his new major: accounting. Along with these big changes, Hershey became involved in many of the clubs on campus including Powerhouse, SAB and the Investment Club. He says that it was through his involvement in these activities that he was able to discover his passions. He encourages students to use their time in college to do the same.

Messiah was not only a place where Hershey discovered what he really loves, but he feels that he was well prepared for what he is currently doing, as well. With the clarity that he received at Messiah regarding his passions, Hershey pursued a role in the accounting industry, currently serving as a forensic accountant in the Forensic, Advisory, and Valuation Services department at Miami-based Kaufman Rossin. In his role, he works in litigation and helps high-net-worth individuals navigate litigation cases concerning divorce, child support and prenuptial agreements.

He is grateful for the department and his professors who helped and encouraged him during his time at Messiah. He was able to take finance courses, along with his accounting classes, which he feels was beneficial for him both personally and professionally. Another reason he’s appreciative of the professors he got the opportunity to know, is due to the ways in which they pushed him. Hershey graduated in December 2017 but stuck around Messiah as he studied for his CPA exam the following spring. His professors encouraged him to take the Certified Public Accounting exam in what would have been the spring semester of his senior year of college. Since he had the whole summer before beginning a job at Ernst & Young in Maryland later that year, he was able to spend his summer backpacking through Europe. “It took such a weight off my shoulders during my first year of work at Ernst & Young,” he said. “I saw many of my co-workers struggling to find the time to study and pass the exams, which made me all the more grateful to my professors for their encouragement to knock them out before I started working.”

Hershey encourages students to step out and try new things like he did when he was a student at Messiah. He describes this time in someone’s life unlike any other, where failure is actually okay. “This is a time in your life where you can try so many new things and fail without consequences, so take advantage of it,” he says.

Fun fact: One of the reasons that Regan Hershey was drawn to Messiah University was that the University was nationally ranked among the top accounting programs in the country!