footnotes ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSIT Y ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT
SPRING 2025
MY REDBIRD STORY
PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL Stephanie Petri
Joseph Johnston
Doug Ellerman
Weslie Sawyer
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP COUNTRY Financial
Michelle Hubble
Paving a path to success Doing it my way through the paths less chosen By outward appearances, you could easily jump to the conclusion that I came from a well off or at least a middleclass family – this could not be farther from the truth. I am a first-generation college student, raised by a single mother who prioritized faith as the guiding principle for our life and education as the way to influence our future and rise from poverty. My mother is a guiding force and inspiration in my life and has instilled a strong sense of faith and family as well as the foundational knowledge that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. And, if you ask her, I was born determined to pave my own path through life regardless of any circumstances I faced. As a kid, if told ‘no’ – my response was always to figure out why and find a way to get to ‘yes’. This innate God given desire to succeed and sense of curiosity has been instrumental to achieving personal and professional success – often via a path less chosen.
Define your success. “Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence” - General Colin Powell. The Big 4 is a highly competitive profession with less than 2% of those who start their careers going on to become a partner – with an even lower percentage for women. The day I started as an intern at PwC in January 1993, the race was on. I was determined to outwork and outperform my peers and be seen as a success. My desire to rise above my station and prove any neigh sayers wrong was clearly a source of motivation and ascending to partner was a goal I knew I could achieve. But, with faith as my foundation I was equally determined to get there my way. When I began my career with PwC, the average time to make partner was 12 years, so by definition success was becoming a partner in 12 years. Multiple times in my career, PwC Partners told me I would need to move to a larger city – the impact of which would have been a career sideline for my husband (Keith Hubble ’92 ISU alum) and relocating our young family away from their friends & family. I had faith that my hard work, loyalty and persistence, would result in PwC recognizing my value and they would admit me to the partnership without asking me to compromise my foundational beliefs of placing my faith and family above my career. The early years of my career were spent working long hours, building a strong brand both as an external auditor and strong technical accounting expert. I was confident that my brand combined with the ability to build strong client relationships, develop and mentor newer professionals and lead teams
Nathan Isenberg Ben Turner Sikich
Jason Jennings GROWMARK Inc.
Zach Fortsch Robert Glazik Brett Schaefer RSM
Kelly Doornbos ADM
Steven Harms PwC
Ashley Carboni KPMG
Heather Powell FORVIS
Ryan Prevo
Kepple Companies
Dena Rucker John Deere
Illinois State University State Farm
Bryan Rowold Loni Steinkamp
Striegel Knobloch & Company, LLC
David Brown
MCK CPAs and Advisors
Korey Davis
Memorial Health System
Phil Johnsen
Miller Cooper & Co. Ltd.
Steve Leazzo
Tighe, Kress & Orr
Scott Lehman Crowe LLP
Jim Krinninger Holly Nelson IDEX Corporation
Chinedu Iwuora Deloitte
Kyle Johnson Afni, Inc.
Ryan Young Caterpillar Inc.
EARLY CAREER ADVISORY BOARD Ita Adebayo
Megan Kozlow
Brandon Brown Jessica Laughlin
Sophia Wan
John Massey
Macon Construction
Caterpillar Inc.
COUNTRY Financial
Fawna Ribbe Watchfire Signs
Alec Rueff
Cintrin Cooperman
Kenneth Bonomo Alexandra Schwartz CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Brandon Lew PwC
Halle Sheley State Farm
Deloitte
Kraft Heinz Company
Franco Pettinato Michael Currie MillerCooper & Co. Ltd.
Eddie Durham Rivian
Maddie Dace RSM
Katherine Hudson
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation