After she graduated high school, Shiva Maggard explored her
career options before setting her sights on medical school. She enrolled at IVC
and picked biology as her major. Maggard planned to transfer to a four-year
college, and like the majority of American college students, she changed her
mind along the way.
She decided med school wasn’t for her. She dropped out of
college and found work in the restaurant industry, as a bartender. She made
decent money in that job, she said, but after a few years realized it wasn’t
what she wanted long term.
Maggard found herself once again exploring her career
options. That led her back to IVC. She re-enrolled, this time declaring a major
in business. She discovered the potential of an accounting career when she took
a class taught by instructor Donald Bradshaw.
“It wasn’t until I took [Instructor] Bradshaw’s class that I
figured out I was going to major in accounting,” Maggard recalled.
She saw Bradshaw as a mentor. She remembers how he talked
about his experiences in accounting and spoke highly of the field as one with good
opportunity and lots of stability. Maggard, the first in her family to attend
college, wanted the kind of job security Bradshaw described, and she liked the
potential for long-term advancement within the field.
“There’s a clear path of upward mobility, and that’s what
attracted me,” she said.
Maggard attended school full-time during the day while tending
bar at night to pay for her college education. IVC was an affordable college option
that came with the benefit quality teachers and smaller class sizes.
“The quality of teachers there is so good, especially on the
business side,” she said. “I loved my teachers at IVC.”
Maggard graduated from IVC in 2015 with an Associate of Arts
in Business Administration, with an emphasis in accounting. She went on to earn
a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with a focus in accounting and
finance, at California State University, Fullerton, in 2017.
And, in November, she celebrated a major professional
milestone: She passed all four parts of the CPA exam and plans to attain her
license to become a certified public accountant in 2021.
“What
a ride. 24 months of blood, sweat, tears, and copious amounts of Starbucks,”
Maggard shared on her LinkedIn profile. “This exam was challenging to say the
least, and I’m so glad I stuck with it because there were many times I wanted
to throw in the towel.
Each part of the four-part CPA exam
is four hours long, and each section takes about 150 hours of studying, on
average, said Maggard, who is an audit senior at
an Orange County-based public accounting firm. In her job, she
audits the financial statements of privately held and publicly traded companies
to make sure their financial statements are accurate for financial-statement
users.
Maggard said likes the career she ultimately chose because
of the challenges it presents. She enjoys “fostering
client relationships, as well as coaching staff and working in a collaborative
team environment.”
“I like being challenged,” she said. “There’s a lot of
upward mobility, so if you’re good at what you do, there’s just so many
opportunities, and it opens so many doors.”
As Maggard looks back on her
time at IVC, she says the college provided her with great mentorship and a
solid foundation in accounting, so she was well-prepared for the courses she
took at CSU Fullerton, as well as the social opportunities. She served
as chair of the Accounting Society at CSU Fullerton, working to recruit
students to the organization, which provided resume-building services,
networking opportunities, peer mentorships and other benefits.
“People think ‘Oh community college, it can’t be that good,’
but I have to disagree,” Maggard said. “I was super impressed with the teachers
I had and the education I received, and so I urge people not to overlook
community college. I think it’s a great way to start your college career,
especially if you’re unsure, because if you change your mind it’s a lot cheaper
at a community college than at a four-year. It’s a great way to explore your
interests, too.”
Learn about the programs offered by IVC’s School of
Business Sciences, including Accounting,
Business Management, Computer Information Management, Entrepreneurship, Paralegal Studies and Real Estate.