For junior Rachel Foutz, accounting runs in the family. Foutz, who is from Boone, joked that her work and ethical values were secretly instilled in her by her parents, who are both certified public accountants. While at Appalachian State University, she has found her passion is helping people fulfill their dreams.
Why accounting? "You can't make your dreams happen if you aren't budgeting correctly," Foutz explained. Through a leadership opportunity, Foutz found exactly who she wants to help.
"My dream job is to work somewhere in the government assisting veterans," she said. "During spring break my freshman year, I had the opportunity to go to the LeaderShape Institute, a six-day leadership development program. It was there that I discovered my passion was veterans and helping them."
Foutz has continued to participate in leadership opportunities while at Appalachian. She is a Walker Fellow with the Walker College of Business, a sorority sister of Appalachian's Zeta Tau Alpha chapter and a member of the Student Conduct Board. She is also a student worker in the Office of the Dean of Students and the Office of Student Conduct.
Foutz spoke highly of Appalachian's accounting program and the faculty within the Department of Accounting. She said a key reason she chose Appalachian and the program is that the professors in the program have industry practice and, according to Foutz, truly care about their students. One of them is Dr. Robin Romanus.
"She has been a mentor to me," Foutz said. "Accounting can be really stressful, and she helped me learn how to manage that stress."
Foutz said one of the most beneficial experiences of the program thus far has been the Junior Year Experience — a series of seminars co-hosted by accounting firms and the Department of Accounting to provide junior-level accounting majors information that will prepare them for the recruiting process. She said, through the experience, she learned what firms expect from future interns, how to be herself during the internship recruitment process and about the experiences of employees in different accounting fields.
For Foutz, attending Appalachian wasn't her original plan. "I was unsure about coming here because I am from Boone, and my mom works on campus," she said.
Initially, Foutz had planned to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but she said she had a change of heart.
"I decided to come to Appalachian because the class sizes are small, you get the feeling the professors actually care about you and you get to meet a lot of amazing classmates. It's nice not to have to worry: 'Am I just a number to a professor?'
"Coming to Appalachian was one of the best decisions I've made," she concluded.
By Alex Jansen
Rachel Foutz, a Boone native and junior accounting major at Appalachian State University. Photo by Chase Reynolds
